UC-NRLF 


ygp" 


;  *>•' 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  dr  CALIFORNIA. 

GIKT   OF 

Mrs.  SARAH  P.  WALSWORTH. 

Received  October,  1894. 
Accessions  No. £*?£.      Class  No._ 


THE 


TONGUE    OF    FIRE; 


OR,   THE 


TRUE  POWER  OP  CHRISTIANITY. 


BY 


WILLIAM  AETHUE,  A.M., 

AUTHOB   OF   "THE   SUCCESSFUL   MERCHANT,"    ETC. 
""85^^ 


NEW    YORK: 

HARPER    &    BROTHERS,    PUBLISHERS, 
FRANKLIN     SQUARE. 

1857. 


ST7P7 


/f'7 


THIS    VOLUME 


Inscribed 


TO  MY  BELOVED  AND  HONORED  TUTOR  IN  THEOLOGY, 


THE  REV.  DOCTOR  HANNAH. 


0? 

UIUVBBSITT 


PREFACE. 

THE  following  pages  are  the  fruit  of  meditations 
entered  upon  with  the  desire  to  lessen  the  dis- 
tance painfully  felt  to  exist  between  my  own  life 
and  ministry  and  those  of  the  primitive  Chris- 
tians. This  fact  may,  in  some  measure,  account 
for  the  plan  of  the  work.  Many  topics  which 
would  have  been  fuUy  discussed  in  a  treatise  on 
the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  or  on  the  charac- 
ter and  usages  of  the  primitive  Christians,  are 
passed  by,  or  very  slightly  touched:  while  some 
others  have  greater  prominence  than  would  have 
been  given  to  them  in  such  a  work. 

As  to  the  mode  of  conceiving  of  events  and 
characteristics,  nothing  has  been  adopted  with- 
out deliberation.  In  several  cases  I  should  have 
felt  interest  in  discussing  other  modes  of  con- 
ceiving them;  but  this  would  have  diverted  me 


VI  PREFACE. 

from   the  direct  practical  aim  with  which  I   set 
out. 

The  work  has  been  interrupted  by  travel  and 
sickness;  and,  at  one  time,  seemed  likely  to 
be  cut  short  by  death.  Spared  to  complete  it, 
though  feeling  how  far  it  falls  short  even  of 
my  own  ideal,  I  humbly  trust  it  may  not  be 
useless. 

KENSINGTON,  April  24th,  1856. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE 

THE  PROMISE  OP  A  BAPTISM  OF  FIRE 1 

CHAPTER  II. 
THE  WAITING  FOR  THE  FULFILLMENT 12 

CHAPTER  III. 
THE  FULFILLMENT  OF  THE  PROMISE 31 

CHAPTER  IV. 
EFFECTS  WHICH  IMMEDIATELY  FOLLOWED  THE  BAPTISM 

OF  FIRE 41 

SECTION  I. — SPIRITUAL  EFFECTS 41 

SECTION  II. — MIRACULOUS  EFFECTS 67 

SECTION  III. — MINISTERIAL  EFFECTS 88 

SECTION  IY. — EFFECTS  UPON  THE  WORLD 106 

CHAPTER  Y. 
PERMANENT  BENEFITS  RESULTING  TO  THE  CHURCH 150 

CHAPTER  YI. 
PRACTICAL  LESSONS 297 


THE  TONGUE    OF  FIRE, 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  PROMISE   OF  A  BAPTISM   OF   FIBE. 

WHEN  John  the  Baptist  was  going  round  Judea, 
shaking  the  hearts  of  the  people  with  a  call  to  re- 
pent, they  said,  "  Surely  this  must  be  the  Messiah 
for  whom  we  have  waited  so  long."  "  No,"  said 
the  strong-spoken  man,  "  I  am  not  the  Christ  ;*  but 
One  mightier  than  I  cometh,  the  latchet  of  whose 
shoes  I  am  not  worthy  to  unloose  :  He  shall  baptize 
you  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire."f 

This  last  expression  might  have  conveyed  some 
idea  of  material  burning  to  any  people  but  Jews  ; 
but  in  their  minds  it  would  awaken  other  thoughts. 
It  would  recall  the  scenes  when  their  father  Abra- 
ham asked  Him  who  promised  that  he  should  inherit 
the  land  wherein  he  was  a  stranger,  "  Lord,  whereby 
shall  I  know  that  I  shall  inherit  it  ?"  The  answer 

*  John  i.  20.  t 

1 


2  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE.        $[&. 

came  thus :  he  was  standing  under  the  open  sky  at 
night,  watching  by  cloven  sacrifices,  when,  "behold 
a  smoking  furnace  and  a  burning  lamp  that  passed 
between  those  pieces"  of  the  victims.*  It  would 
recall  the  fire  which  Moses  saw  in  the  bush,  which 
shone,  and  awed,  and  hallowed  even  the  wilderness, 
but  did  not  consume ;  the  fire  which  came  in  the 
day  of  Israel's  deliverance,  as  a  light  on  their  way, 
and  continued  with  them  throughout  the  desert 
journey ;  the  fire  which  descended  on  the  Tabernacle 
in  the  day  in  which  it  was  reared  up,  and  abode  upon 
it  continually ;  which  shone  in  the  Shekinah ;  which 
touched  the  lips  of  Isaiah ;  which  flamed  in  the  vis- 
ions of  Ezekiel ;  and  which  was  yet  again  promised 
to  Zion,  not  only  in  her  public  but  in  her  family 
shrines,  when  the  Lord  will  create  upon  every 
dwelling-place  of  Mount  Zion,  and  upon  all  her  as- 
semblies, a  cloud  and  smoke  by  day,  and  the  shining 
of  a  flaming  fire  by  night." 

In  the  promise  of  a  baptism  of  fire  they  would  at 
once  recognize  the  approach  of  new  manifestations 
of  the  power  and  presence  of  God  /  for  that  was 
ever  the  purport  of  this  appearance  in  "the  days  of 
the  right  hand  of  the  Most  High." 

Among  the  multitude  who  flocked  to  John  came 
one  strange  Man,  whom  he  did  not  altogether  know ; 
yet  he  knew  that  He  was  full  of  grace  and  wisdom, 
*  Gen.  xv.  17. 


THE  PROMISE    OF   A   BAPTISM    OF   FIRE.  3 

and  in  favor  with  God  and  man.  He  felt  that  him 
self  rather  needed  to  be  baptized  of  one  so  pure 
than  to  baptize  Him ;  but  he  waived  his  feeling,  and 
fulfilled  his  ministry.  As  they  returned  from  the 
water  side,  the  heavens  opened :  a  bodily  shape,  as 
of  a  dove,  came  down  and  rested  on  the  stranger. 
At  the  same  time  a  voice  from  the  excellent  glory 
said,  "  This  is  My  beloved  Son,  hi  whom  I  am  well 
pleased :  hear  ye  Him." 

John  said,  "  I  knew  Him  not :  but  He  that  sent 
me  to  baptize  with  water,  the  same  said  unto  me, 
Upon  whom  thou  shalt  see  the  Spirit  descending, 
and  remaining  on  Him,  the  same  is  He  which  bap- 
tizeth  with  the  Holy  Ghost."  Therefore,  when  he 
saw  Hun  walking,  he  pointed  his  own  disciples  to 
Him,  and  said,  that  this  was  He.  They  heard  the 
word,  and  pondered.  The  next  day,  again,  John, 
seeing  Him  at  a  distance,  said,  "  Behold  the  Lamb 
of  God !"  Now,  two  of  his  followers  went  after 
the  stranger,  to  seek  at  His  hand  the  baptism  which 
John  could  not  give — the  baptism  of  fire.  They 
were  joined  by  others.  For  months,  for  years,  they 
companied  with  Him.  They  saw  His  life :  a  life  as 
of  the  Only-begotten  Son  of  God.  They  heard  His 
words :  such  words  as  "  never  man  spake."  They 
saw  His  works :  signs,  and  wonders,  and  great  mira- 
cles, before  all  the  people.  Yet  they  received  not 
the  baptism  of  fire ! 


4  THE  TONGUE   OF  FIRE. 

He  began  to  speak  frequently  of  His  departure 
from  them;  but  his  mode  of  describing  it  was 
strange.  He  was  to  leave  them,  and  yet  not  to  for- 
sake them ;  to  go  away,  and  yet  to  be  with  them ; 
to  go,  and  yet  to  come  to  them.  They  were  to  be 
deprived  of  Him  their  Head,  yet  orphans  they 
should  not  be.  Another  was  to  come,  yet  not  an- 
other ;  a  Comforter  from  the  Father,  from  Himself; 
whom,  not  as  in  His  case,  the  world  could  neither 
know  nor  see,  but  whom  they  should  know,  though 
they  could  not  see.*  His  own  presence  with  them 
was  a  privilege  which  no  tongue  could  worthily  tell. 
Blessed  were  their  eyes  for  what  they  saw,  and 
their  ears  for  what  they  heard.  Better  still  than 
even  this  was  to  be  the  presence  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
who  would  follow  Him  as  He  had  followed  John. 

"  I  tell  you  the  truth,"  He  said,  when  about  to 
utter  what  was  hard  to  believe :  "  I  tell  you  the 
truth;  It  is  expedient  for  you  that  I  go  away." 
How  could  it  be  expedient  ?  Would  they  not  be 
losers  to  an  extent  which  no  man  could  reckon  ? 
The  light  of  His  countenance,  the  blessing  of  His 
words,  the  purity  of  His  presence,  the  influence  of 
His  example,  all  to  be  removed ;  and  this  expedient 
for  them  !  "  It  is  expedient  for  you  that  I  go  away : 
for  if  I  go  not  away,  the  Comforter  will  not  come 
unto  you."  Well,  but  would  they  not  be  better 
*  John  xiv.  1*7. 


THE  PROMISE   OF   A   BAPTISM   OF   FIRE.  5 

with  Himself  than  with  the  Comforter  ?  No ;  just 
the  contrary.  They  would  be  better  with  the  Com- 
forter :  He  would  lead  them  into  all  truth ;  whereas 
now  they  are  constantly  misapplying  the  plain  words 
of  Christ.  He  would  bring  all  things  to  their  re- 
membrance ;  whereas  now  they  often  forget  in  a  day 
or  two  the  most  remarkable  teaching,  or  the  most 
amazing  miracles.  He  would  take  the  things  of 
Christ,  the  things  of  the  Father,  and  reveal  them 
unto  them ;  whereas  now  they  constantly  misappre- 
hended His  relation  to  the  Father,  and  that  of  the 
Father  to  Him,  misapprehended  His  person,  His 
mission,  and  His  kingdom.  Again,  He  would  con- 
vince the  world  of  sin,  of  righteousness,  and  of 
judgment  to  come ;  and  this  is  not  as  one  teacher 
limited  by  a  local  personality,  but  as  a  Spirit  dif- 
fused abroad  throughout  the  earth.  And  He  would 
abide  with  them  forever,  not  for  "  a  little  while." 
Whatever,  therefore,  Christ's  personal  presence  and 
teaching  had  been  to  them,  the  presence  of  the 
Spirit  would  be  more. 

Having  thus  strongly  pre-occupied  their  minds 
with  the  hope  ef  a  greater  joy  than  even  His  own 
countenance,  the  Master  laid  down  His  life.  Stun- 
ned, dispersed,  and  desolate,  they  felt  themselves 
orphans  indeed.  Their  Master  ignominiously  exe- 
cuted, and  neither  the  word  of  John  nor  His  own 
word  fulfilled :  no  Comforter,  no  baptism,  no  fire ! 


6  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

Soon  He  re-appeared,  and,  as  they  were  met  to- 
gether  for  the  first  time  since  His  death,  once  more 
stood  in  the  midst  of  them.  He  breathed  upon 
them,  and  said,  "Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost." 
With  that  word,  doubtless,  both  peace  and  power 
were  given;  yet  it  was  not  the  baptism  of  fire. 
During  forty  days  he  conversed  with  them  on  the 
things  pertaining  to  the  kingdom  of  God ;  assign- 
ing to  them  the  work  of  proclaiming  and  establish- 
ing that  kingdom  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  One 
injunction,  however,  He  laid  upon  them,  which 
seemed  to  defer  the  effect  of  others.  They  were  to 
go  into  all  the  world,  yet  not  at  once,  or  uncondi- 
tionally. "  Tarry  ye  in  the  city  of  Jerusalem  till 
ye  be  endued  with  power  from  on  high."  Appa- 
rently more  ready  to  interpret  "  power"  as  referring 
to  the  hopes  of  their  nation  than  to  the  kingdom  of 
grace,  they  asked,  "  Lord,  wilt  Thou  at  this  time 
restore  again  the  kingdom  to  Israel  ?"* 

He  had  said  nothing  of  a  kingdom  for  Israel,  or 
in  Israel.  His  speech  had  been  on  a  higher  theme, 
and  of  a  wider  field :  namely,  "  that  repentance  and 
remission  of  sins  should  be  preached  in  His  name 
among  all  nations,  beginning  at  Jerusalem.  And 
ye  are  witnesses  of  these  things."  Such,  in  various 
forms,  are  the  words  we  find  him  uttering  concern- 
ing His  kingdom  during  these  forty  days.  When, 
*  Acts  i.  6. 


THE   PROMISE    OP    A   BAPTISM    OF   FIRE.  7 

therefore,  they  asked  if  He  would  at  this  time  re- 
store again  the  kingdom  to  Israel,  He  shortly  turned 
aside  their  curiosity.  What  the  Father's  designs 
were  as  to  Israel  nationally ;  what  the  times  when 
they  might  again  be  a  kingdom— were  points  not 
for  them.  They  had  better  work,  and  nearer  at 
hand.  "  It  is  not  for  you  to  know  the  times  or  the 
seasons,  which  the  Father  hath  put  in  His  own 
power."*  "  But,"  He  continued,  passing  at  once 
from  curious  questions  about  the  future  of  Israel, 
and  unfulfilled  prophecy,  to  His  own  grand  king- 
dom :  "  But  ye  shall  receive  power,  after  that  the 
Holy  Ghost  is  come  upon  you."  What  power  ?  of 
princes,  or  magistrates  ?  Nay,  quite  another  power, 
for  an  unearthly  work :  "  And  ye  shall  be  witnesses 
unto  Me  both  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  all  Judea,  and 
in  Samaria,  and  unto  the  uttermost  parts  of  the 
earth." 

In  these  words  He  traces  the  circles  in  which 
Christian  sympathy  and  activity  should  ever  run : 
first,  Jerusalem,  their  chief  city ;  next,  Judea,  their 
native  land ;  then  Samaria,  a  neighboring  country, 
inhabited  by  a  race  nationally  detested  by  their 
countrymen;  and  finally  "the  uttermost  parts  of 
the  earth."  They  were  neither  to  seek  distant 
spheres  first,  nor  to  confine  themselves  always  at 
home ;  but  to  carry  the  Gospel  into  all  the  world, 
*  Acts  i.  t. 


THE  TONGUE   OF  FIRE. 

as  each  country  could  be  reached.  This  was  what 
He  had  before  placed  in  their  view — the  filling  all 
the  earth  with  the  news  of  grace,  news  that  repent- 
ance and  pardon  were  opened  to  men  by  the  power 
of  His  atonement.  We  have  no  hint  that  He  ever 
spake,  during  the  forty  days,  of  other  kingdom, 
royalty,  or  reign.  Not  to  rule  over  cities ;  not  to 
speculate  on  the  designs  of  the  Father  and  the  des- 
tinies of  the  Jew ;  but  to  go  into  the  whole  world, 
tell  every  creature  the  story  of  Christ,  was  to  be 
their  princely  work.  To  found  a  kingdom  not  over 
men's  persons,  but  "within"  their  souls ;  a  kingdom 
not  of  provinces,  but  of  "  righteousness,  and  peace, 
and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost;"  a  kingdom  to  be 
spread  not  by  the  arms  of  a  second  Joshua,  but  by 
the  "  witness"  of  the  human  voice ;  a  kingdom,  the 
power  of  which  would  not  lie  in  force  or  policy,  or 
signs  observed  in  heaven,  but  in  a  spiritual  power 
imparted  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  operating  in  super- 
human  utterance  of  Jieavenly  truth ;  this  was  their 
embassy.  For  this  were  they  to  be  endued  with 
power  from  on  high.  But  when  was  this  power,  so 
long  spoken  of,  to  come?  Would  John's  word 
ever  be  fulfilled  ?  The  Master  has  not  forgotten  it. 
"  John  truly  baptized  with  water,  but  ye  shall  be 
baptized  with  the  Holy  Ghost  not  many  days  hence." 
At  length  the  promise  is  brought  to  a  point,  and  its 
fulfillment  near. 


THE   PROMISE    OF   A   BAPTISM    OF   FIRE.  9 

Already  had  He  proclaimed  Himself  King,  and 
marked  out  the  ministers  and  army,  the  weapon, 
the  extent,  the  badge  of  citizenship,  the  statute 
law,  the  royal  glory,  and  the  duration  of  His  king- 
dom. With  His  disciples  around  Him,  standing  on 
a  mountain  top,  heaven  above  and  earth  below,  He 
thus  proclaimed  His  kingdom :  "  All  power  is  given 
to  Me  in  heaven  and  in  earth :"  here  was  the  King. 
"  Go  :"  here  were  the  ministers  and  army — an  em- 
bassy of  peace.  "  Teach  :"  here  the  weapon — the 
word  of  God.  "All  nations:'5  here  the  extent. 
"  Baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and 
of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost:"  here  the 
badge  of  citizenship.  "  Teaching  them  to  observe 
all  things  whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you:" 
here  the  statute  law.  "  And,  lo,  I  am  with  you :" 
here  the  royal  presence  and  glory  of  the  kingdom. 
"Always,  unto  the  end  of  the  world:"  here  its 
duration.*  Now  again  He  is  rising  a  hill,  convers- 
ing with  those  who  had  heard  this  proclamation,  as 
to  their  part  in  the  establishment  of  the  kingdom. 
He  has  clearly  promised  that,  before  many  days, 
the  long  looked-for  baptism  of  fire  will  come. 
That  implies,  that  before  many  days  He  will  de- 
part ;  for  He  ever  said  that  He  must  first  ascend. 
He  has  answered,  or  rather  rebuked,  their  curious 
inquiry  as  to  Israel;  has  turned  their  thoughts 
*  Matt,  xxviii.  19,  20. 


10  THE  TOKGUE   OF   FIRE. 

again  to  the  descent  of  the  Spirit ;  and  is  just  tell- 
ing them  that,  endued  with  this  new  power,  they 
shall  bear  witness  to  His  glory  not  only  at  home 
but  abroad.  "  To  the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth,*' 
is  the  last  word  on  His  lips* — a  startling  word  for 
His  peasant  auditors,  accustomed  to  limit  their 
range  of  thought  within  the  Holy  Land.  But 
He  had  already  said  that  all  power  was  given  to 
Him  "  in  heaven  and  in  earth,"  Did  not  the  faith 
of  some  disciple  reel  under  the  weight  of  these 
words  ? 

"  In  Jerusalem,  and  in  all  Judea,  and  in  Samaria, 

and  tO  THE  UTTERMOST  PART  OF  THE  EARTH  !" 

This  word  is  on  His  lips  ;  they  are  steadily  watch- 
ing Him :  He  lifts  His  hands,  He  pronounces  His 
blessing ;  and  in  the  actf  lo,  His  body,  which  they 
know  "  has  flesh  and  bones"  like  their  own,  begins 
to  rise !  No  wing,  no  hand,  no  chariot  of  fire ! 
Upward  it  moves  by  its  own  power ;  and  in  that 
single  action  commands  the  homage  of  earth :  for 
our  globe  has  no  law  so  universal  and  irreversible 
as  that  whereby  it  binds  down  all  ponderous  bodies 
to  its  surface.  Here  this  law  gives  way,  and  there- 
by the  whole  mass  of  the  globe  yields  to  the  powei 
of  Christ.  This  placid  movement  of  that  body,  up 
from  the  surface  of  earth  into  the  heights  of  the 
sky,  is  an  open  act  of  sovereignty  over  the  highest 
*  Acts  i.  8.  t Luke  xxiv-  50- 


THE   PROMISE    OF   A   BAPTISM    OF    FIRE.  11 

physical  law ;  whereby  Christ  "  manifested  forth 
His  glory,"  as  Lord  and  Maker  of  all  physical  laws. 
His  proclamation  of  kingship  is  thus  acknowledged 
by  earth  with  its  highest  homage.  Now  the 
heaven  adds  its  homage,  stoops  in  luminous  cloud, 
and  robes  Him  for  His  enthronement.  The  ever 
lasting  doors  lift  up  their  heads.  The  King  of 
Glory  enters  in.  The  First-begotten  from  the 
dead,  the  Prince  of  the  Kings  of  the  earth,  sits 
down  with  the  Father  on  His  throne ;  and  from 
Him  receives  the  word,  "  Thy  throne,  O  God,  is 
forever  and  ever ;  a  scepter  of  righteousness  is  the 
scepter  of  Thy  kingdom !"  And  again,  "  Let  all 
the  angels  of  God  worship  Him."  Within  the  vail 
they  worship  the  Lamb  ;  and  down  they  speed  to 
His  followers,  and  tell  them  that  they  need  not 
gaze.  As  they  have  seen  Him  go,  so  shall  they  see 
Him  come,  even  in  the  clouds,  to  judge  that  world, 
of  which  and  of  its  Princes  He  is  King.  Thus 
triply  is  His  kingship  owned.  Earth  permits 
Him  to  rise,  heaven  bows,  the  angels  add  their 
testimony.  All  things  own  Him,  Unbelief  is 
now  impossible.  Doubt  vanishes  away.  His  word 
shall  not  pass  unfulfilled.  The  baptism  of  fire  is  at 
hand. 


"jDOCIJs        erf 6  9JI8    ITJsr 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE  WAITING  FOB  THE  FULFILLMENT. 

IT  is  on  Thursday,  probably  in  the  evening,  that 
the  disciples  return  to  Jerusalem.  Their  Master 
is  no  more  at  their  head — indeed,  no  more  on 
earth ;  and  as  yet  His  great  promise  is  unfulfilled. 
But  the  scene  of  the  ascension  is  in  their  eye  ;  the 
voice  of  angels  in  their  ear.  Jesus  is  King  of 
kings,  and  Lord  of  lords.  The  Comforter  is 
coming  "  not  many  days  hence."  Not  with  doubt- 
ing or  weeping  do  they  enter  the  city,  but  with 
"  great  joy ;"  the  joy  of  a  triumph  already  sealed, 
and  of  hope  foreseeing  triumphs  to  come.  Most 
probably  that  joy  carries  their  first  steps  to  the 
temple.*  Oft  had  they  entered  it  with  Him,  but 
never  so  triumphantly  as  now.  There  they  are, 
not  mourning  the  absence  of  their  Master,  but 
"  praising  and  blessing  God."  Thence  they  go  to 
"  an  upper  room."  We  know  not  in  what  street, 
*  Luke  xxiv.  53. 


THE   WAITING   FOB   THE   FULFILLMENT.  13 

or  on  what  site ;  but  there  *'  abode"  a  few  men 
whose  names  were  not  then  great,  but  whose 
names  will  never  more  pass  from  the  memory  of 
mankind.  With  them  abode  also  a  few  women, 
who  had  loved  their  Lord ;  and  for  the  last  time 
"  Mary  the  mother  of  Jesus"  is  named  as  one  of 
the  little  company.  Men  and  women,  they  now 
began  to  pray,  and  they  "  continued  with  one 
accord  in  prayer  and  supplication,"  for  the  baptism 
of  fire. 

Did  they  expect  to  receive  it  that  very  night  ? 
This  we  know  not;  but  we  do  know  that  then 
opened  a  new  era  in  the  intercourse  of  man  with 
heaven.  As  they  began  to  pray,  how  would  they 
find  all  their  conceptions  of  the  Majesty  on  high 
changed !  It  no  longer  spread  before  and  beyond 
the  soul's  eyesight,  as  an  unvaried  infinity  of  glory 
incomprehensible.  The  glory  was  brighter,  the  in- 
comprehensibility remained;  but  the  infinity  had 
now  received  a  centre.  Every  beam  of  the  glory 
converged  toward  the  person  of  "  God  manifest  in 
the  flesh,"  now  "  received  up  into  heaven :"  the 
glory  not  dissolving  the  person  in  its  own  tide,  the 
person  not  dimming  the  glory  by  any  shade, 
though  appearing  through  it  as  the  sun's  body 
through  the  light.  Perhaps,  indeed,  the  change 
was  such  to  their  view,  as  would  have  struck  the 
eye  of  an  observer  of  nature,  had  one  lived  on  our 


14  THE  TONGUE   OF  FIRE. 

planet  at  the  time  when  the  sun  was  first  set  in  the 
firmament.  The  light  which  before  had  been  a 
wide  and  level  mystery,  now  had  to  his  eye  a  law, 
n  centre,  and  a  spring.  The  indistinct  view  of  a 
material  form  amid  the  seemingly  spiritual  glory, 
gave  the  feeling  that  some  body  akin  to  our  own 
globe  lay  at  the  center  of  illumination.  This  body 
was  not  the  cause  of  the  light,  not  even  of  the  same 
nature,  but  around  the  body  the  "  exceeding  weight 
of  glory"  seemed  to  hang. 

O  to  feel  as  felt  that  heart  which  first  discerned 
human  nature,  in  the  person  of  Him  who  had  been 
"  so  marred,"  set  down  on  the  right  hand  of  the 
Majesty  on  high !"  The  glory  of  the  Father  en- 
compasing  a  human  form,  and  beaming  from  a 
human  brow !  "  If  ye  loved  Me,  ye  would  rejoice, 
because  I  said,  I  go  unto  the  Father  ;  for  My 
Father  is  greater  than  I" — was  the  word  of  Jesus. 
"Now  that  they  had  seen  Him  pass  within  the  vail ; 
seen  the  ushering  angels  attend  His  entrance,  and 
heard  the  music  of  their  voices ;  they  would  not 
feel  as  if  He  had  forsaken  them,  but  as  they  had 
often  felt  when  the  High  Priest  passed  from  their 
view  into  the  holiest,  bearing  the  blood  of  atone- 
ment, to  stand  before  the  PRESENCE.  "  He  is  out 
of  sight,  but  there  before  the  Lord."  The  first 
thought  would  be  one  of  joy  for  Him.  Peter! 
how  did  thy  breast  heave  when  first  thou  didst  be- 


THE   WAITING  FOB   THE   FULFILLMENT.  15 

hold,  by  faith  clear  as  sight,  that  countenance 
which  had  looked  round  upon  thee  from  the  bar, 
now  looking  down  upon  thee  from  the  high  and 
lofty  throne !  Mary  Magdalena,  who  wast  bent 
tinder  the  sevenfold  power  of  the  devil  when  first 
that  face  beamed  on  thee,  who  didst  fall  at  His  feet 
when,  just  arisen  from  the  dead,  He  first  appeared 
to  thee  !  what  was  the  flow  of  thy  tears,  what  the 
odor  of  thy  joy,  when  the  full  truth  burst  on  thy 
view,  that  He  had  "  overcome,  and  was  set  down 
with  the  Father  on  His  throne  !"  And  thou,  John! 
what  felt  thy  bosom  when  He  on  whose  bosom  thine 
own  head  had  leaned,  appeared  to  thy  mind  no 
more  with  such  as  thee ;  but,  as  "  in  the  beginning, 
with  God?"  And  thou,  too,  Mary  the  blessed, 
through  whose  soul  the  sword  had  gone  !  how  did 
thy  "  soul  magnify  the  Lord !"  how  did  thy  "  spirit 
rejoice  in  God  thy  Saviour,"  when  thy  meek  eye 
saw  the  infinite  accomplishment  of  Gabriel's  word, 
He  shall  be  Great ! 

Mingling  with  this  first  joy  for  the  Master's 
exaltation,  and  presently  rising  to  the  surface  and 
overspreading  all  their  emotions,  would  be  the  feel- 
ing, "  He  has  entered  for  us  within  the  vail !  He 
bears  our  names  upon  His  heart  for  a  memorial 
before  the  Lord !  He  maketh  intercession  for  us !" 
— Tush  !  which  of  the  twelve  is  it  that  starts  up  as 
if  a  spirit  had  entered  him,  and,  pointing  upward, 


16  THE  TONGUE   OP  FIRE. 

says  to  the  Brethren  ? — "  Let  us  ask  the  Father  in 
His  NAME  !  He  said  to  us,  '  Whatsoever  ye  shall 
ask  the  Father  in  My  name^  He  will  give  it  to 
you.  Hitherto  ye  have  asked  nothing  in  My  name: 
ask,  and  ye  shall  receive,  that  your  joy  may  be  foil.'  "* 
The  angels  had  often  sung  together  when  the 
prayer  of  repenting  sinners  was  heard  on  high. 
N"ow,  for  the  first  time,  they  hear  prayers  from 
human  lips  rising  to  the  Throne  authorized  and  ac- 
credited by  the  NAME  of  the  Only-begotten  of  the 
Father.  That  name  has  just  been  set  "  above 
every  name:"  and  as  it  echoes  through  the  host 
above,  with  the  solemn  joy  of  a  hundred  believing 
voices,  "  things  in  heaven"  bow.  Be  man  ever  so 
unworthy,  "  worthy  is  the  Lamb ;"  and  His  name 
covers  with  justice  every  request  to  which  it  is  set 
by  His  authority.  What  must  have  been  that 
moment  for  the  saints  in  Paradise,  who  had  seen 
the  Saviour  afar  off,  but  never  known  the  joy  of 
praying  directly  in  His  name!  Father  Abraham 
had  "  rejoiced  to  see  His  day ;  and  he  saw  it  and 
was  glad."  What  would  be  his  gladness  now,  that 
earth  and  heaven  were  rejoicing  in  His  name  ! 
David,  to  whom  He  was  at  once  Lord  and  Son — 
what  would  be  "  the  things"  which  in  that  wonder- 
ful moment  his  tongue  would  speak  "  touching  the 
King?" 

*  John  xvi.  23,  24. 


THE   WAITING   FOR  THE   FULFILLMENT.  17 

From  the  hour  that  sin  entered  into  the  world, 
the  Just  One  had  never  given  man  audience  on 
terms  fit  only  for  the  innocent.  An  upright  inferior 
may  approach  Majesty,  not  without  reverence,  but 
without  shame  or  atonement.  The  admission  of  a 
criminal  on  the  same  footing  would  be  wrong. 
Right  in  our  governments  is  the  imperfect  reflec- 
tion of  a  perfect  right.  Had  the  favor  of  the  Al- 
mighty crossed  the  line  which  divides  innocence 
from  guilt,  and  smiled  upon  the  latter,  that  smile 
would  have  been  a  scathing  flash,  wherein  all 
morals  would  have  blackened.  Sinful  man  had  not 
been  hopelessly  banished  from  the  presence  of  God; 
but  he  had  ever  been  taught  to  come  displaying  a 
sign  of  wrath,  of  death,  which  is  the  wages  of  sin ; 
thus  declaring  to  the  universe  that  he  appealed  not 
to  a  justice  which  had  never  been  offended ;  but  to 
a  justice  which  had  been  satisfied. 

The  altar  had  been  the  Patriarch's  place  of 
prayer.  The  temple,  where  was  the  perpetual 
offering,  had  been  the  center  to  which  every  pray- 
ing Israelite  turned.  To  approach  the  Eternal 
Godhead  as  if  no  evil  had  been  done,  and  no  stroke 
merited,  was  never  yet  the  privilege  of  a  creature 
who  had  done  wrong.  It  was  wonderful,  yea, 
mysterious,  that  such  could  be  allowed  to  approach 
at  all ;  but  the  Lord  would  ever  justify  His  permis- 
sion, by  demanding  clear  and  express  reference  to 


18  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

that  propitiation,  which  He  has  set  forth  to  de- 
clare His  own  righteousness,  in  that  marvelous 
act  of  lifting  the  guilty  into  the  mansions  of  the 
good. 

How  great  the  transition  from  these  symbols  of 
the  Atonement  to  the  full  view  of  its  reality! 
During  the  FORTY  DAYS  Jesus  had  opened  their 
understanding,  pointed  out  to  them  the  Scriptures 
which  bore  upon  His  death,  and  showed  its  con- 
nection with  remission  of  sins  for  mankind.  They 
now  looked  no  more  to  temple  or  to  altar.  They 
had  before  them  the  true  sacrifice  completed.  He 
had  "  purged  their  sins,"  and,  in  the  same  body 
wherein  He  had  done  so,  was  standing  before  the 
Father. 

He  had  given  them  authority  to  use  his  name. 
With  that  name  their  petitions  carried  the  assent 
of  all  the  rational  and  moral  creation.  The  eternal 
Father  in  holding  communion  with  beings  who  had 
done  wrong,  exposed  no  sinless  being  to  doubts  as 
to  whether  right  and  wrong  were  equal.  He  had 
"  made  peace  through"  Christ's  "  blood,"  had  thus 
"  reconciled  all  things  to  Himself' — to  Himself  in 
the  new  and  mysterious  proceeding  of  government, 
whereby  the  doers  of  wrong  were  spared  the  effects 
of  wrong-doing.  "  For  it  pleased  the  Father  that 
in  Him  should  all  fullness  dwell ;  and,  having  made 
peace  through  the  blood  of  His  cross,  by  Him  to 


THE   WAITING   FOR  THE  FULFILLMENT.  19 

reconcile  all  things  unto  Himself;  by  Him,  I  say, 
whether  they  be  things  in  earth,  or  things  in 
heaven."*  So  that  creatures  "  in  heaven,"  all 
whose  joy  depended  on  their  never  doing  wrong, 
had  no  murmur  to  raise,  and  no  temptation  to 
undergo,  when  they  saw  creatures  "  on  earth," 
who  had  followed  ways  which  would  make  any 
world  sorrowful,  received  into  the  arms  of  Eternal 
Mercy.  The  guilty  He  reconciled  by  forgiving 
their  sin,  and  recovering  their  hearts ;  and  the  in- 
nocent He  reconciled  to  see  offenders  exalted,  by 
"setting  forth"  so  conspicuously  that  all  angels 
desired  to  look  into  it,  "  a  propitiation,"  which  fully 
"declared  His  righteousness,"  His  strict  care  of 
right;  which  magnified  law,  magnified  holiness, 
magnified  obedience,  and,  in  the  act  of  saving  the 
guilty,  magnified  beyond  all  previous  conception 
the  heinousness  of  guilt.  What  sense  of  the  dis- 
tinction between  right  and  wrong  could  have  been 
maintained  among  innocent  creatures,  had  they 
seen  transgressors  raised  to  favor  and  honor  with- 
out atonement  ? 

O  the  joy  of  that  first  hour  of  praying  in  the 
name  of  Christ !  Was  not  Martha  there  ?  As  she 
met  the  Master  on  that  mournful  day,  when  Lazarus 
lay  in  the  tomb,  though  despairing,  she  said,  "  But 
I  know,  that  even  now,  whatsoever  thou  wilt  ask 
*  Col.  i.,  19,  20. 


20  THE  TONGUE   OF  FIRE. 

of  God,  God  will  give  it  thee."  If  such  was  her 
confidence  then,  what  would  be  her  confidence  now 
— He  asking  for  her,  and  she  asking  in  His  name  ! 
How  the  souls  of  the  disciples,  following  Him  above 
the  sky,  would  soar,  with  a  new  wing,  a  new  eye, 
and  a  new  song !  What  simple  and  glowing  col- 
lects would  they  be  which  were  uttered  then  ! 
What  words  of  joy  and  supplication  would  he  pour 
forth  who  first  bethought  him  of  putting  the  Lord 
in  remembrance  of  His  own  promises  !  What 
short  and  burning  petitions  would  go  up  from  the 
lips  which  first  quoted,  cc  Whatsoever  ye  shall  ask 
the  Father  in  My  name,  He  shall  give  it  you!" 
How  would  he  plead  who  first  remembered,  "  Ask 
what  ye  will,  and  it  shall  be  done  unto  you !"  How 
would  tones  of  desire  and  triumph  mingle  in  the 
first  repetition  of,  "All  things  whatsoever  ye  ask 
in  prayer  believing,  ye  shall  receive!"  None  of 
their  prayers  are  recorded.  We  have  ancient  col- 
lects, and  beautiful  they  are ;  but  none  of  these 
most  ancient  are  preserved.  The  Spirit  has  not 
seen  it  good  to  hand  down  the  strong  and  tender 
collects  of  these  ten,  or  of  the  following  days. 
Then  surely  it  is  unlawful  to  impose  good  forms  of 
prayer  upon  all  men  because  ancient  saints  wrote 
them. 

He  who  will  never  use  a  form  in  public  prayer, 
casts  away  the  wisdom  of  the  past.     He  who  will 


THE   WAITING   FOB   THE   FULFILLMENT.  21 

use  only  forms,  casts  away  the  hope  of  utterance 
to  be  given  by  the  Spirit  at  present,  and  even 
shuts  up  the  future  in  the  stiff  hand  of  the  past. 
Whatever  Church  forbids  a  Christian  congregation, 
no  matter  what  may  be  their  fears,  troubles,  joys, 
or  special  and  pressing  need,  ever  to  send  up 
prayer  to  God,  except  in  words  framed  by  other 
men  in  other  ages,  uses  an  authority  which  was 
never  delegated.  To  object  to  all  forms  is  narrow- 
ness. To  doom  a  Christian  temple  to  be  a  place 
wherein  a  simple  and  impromptu  cry  may  never 
arise  to  heaven,  is  superstition. 

Does  any  one  of  the  hundred  and  twenty,  even 
in  paradise,  up  to  this  moment  forget  the  hour  of 
prayer  that  Thursday  night,  after  they  had  returned 
from  Olivet  ? 

The  Friday  morning  dawns.  It  was  on  Friday 
the  Lord  had  died.  Would  He  not  send  His  prom- 
ised substitute  to-day?  ,  O  how  His  cross  would 
all  day  long  stand  before  the  eye  of  every  disciple  ! 
Now  came  back  all  His  words  about  the  death 
"  which  He  should  accomplish ;"  from  the  night 
when  He  told  Nicodemus  that,  as  the  serpent  had 
been  lifted  up,  so  must  He,  up  to  the  night  in  which 
He  said,  "  The  hour  is  come" — words  dark  at  the 
time,  but  pointed  to-day  as  the  steel  of  arrows. 
What  had  been  mystery,  was  mystery  no  longer. 


22  THE   TO1STGUE   OF   FIRE. 

Now  the  only  mystery  was,  "What  manner  of 
love!"  Was  it  on  that  day  that  John's  fiery  heart — 
the  heart  which  had  rebuked  the  man  who  followed 
not  them,  which  wished  to  burn  the  inhospitable 
villagers,  and  to  be,  with  his  brother,  head  of  all 
— was  it  then  •  this  heart  fully  embraced  the  mean- 
ing of  the  agony  witnessed  by  him  so  close  at 
hand,  as  compared  with  the  others,  and  written 
upon  it  forever  ?  Was  it  then  it  first  saw  all 
the  import  of  the  words,  "  God  so  loved  the 
world,  that  He  gave  His  Only-begotten  Son,  that 
whosoever  believeth  in  Him,  should  not  perish, 
but  have  everlasting  life  ?"  and  that  the  "  son 
of  thunder"  was  transformed  into  the  child  of 
charity  ? 

Never  before  had  the  thought  of  man  alternated 
between  two  such  scenes,  as  those  which  divided 
the  eye  of  every  soul  in  that  praying  company :  a 
cross,  a  drooping  head,  hands  bleeding,  feet  bleed- 
ing, heaven  black,  thieves  on  either  side,  gibes  be- 
low ;  and  a  preternatural  sorrow  on  the  soul  of  the 
sufferer,  which  cast  over  the  whole  an  infinite  dread- 
fulness.  On  this  the  eye  looks  one  moment,  and 
weeps.  Then  a  throne,  high  and  lifted  up;  the 
glory  of  the  Lord ;  angels  bowing ;  angels  singing ; 
saints  with  palm,  and  harp,  and  voice  acclaiming ; 
and  in  the  center  of  all  might,  majesty,  and  domin 
ion,  the  crucified  body,  living,  but  with  its  wounds, 


THE   WAITING    FOB   THE   FULFILLMENT.  23 

u  as  slain."  On  this  the  same  eye  looks,  and  weeps 
again.  O  for  the  feelings  of  that  day ! 

Yet  the  Friday  wears  away,  and  no  "baptism  of 
fire !"  The  Saturday  sets  in ;  its  hours  are  filled  up 
as  before  with  prayyer ;  but  no  answer.  And  now 
dawns  the  first  day  of  the  week,  the  day  whereon 
He  rose,  the  firs*  Lord's  day  He  had  passed  on  His 
throne  of  glory.  How  did  they  spend  that  day  ? 
Surely  they  would  fully  expect  that  the  blessing 
they  sought  would  be  delayed  no  longer.  He  said, 
"Not  many  days:"  this  was  the  fourth  day;  it 
must  come  to-day!  But  the  evening  steals  on,  and 
all  their  prayers  might  have  risen  into  a  Heaven 
that  could  not  hear.  Monday,  Tuesday,  Wednesday 
pass.  Their  faith  does  not  fail ;  still  in  the  temple 
"  praising  and  blessing  God,"  or  in  the  upper  room 
in  "  prayer  and  supplication,"  they  continue  of  one 
accord.  Though  He  tarry,  yet  will  they  wait  for 
Him. 

This  is  waiting.  Some  speak  of  waiting  for  sal- 
vation as  if  it  meant  making  ourselves  at  ease,  and 
dismissing  both  effort  and  anxiety.  Who  so  waits 
for  any  person  or  any  event  ?  When  waiting,  your 
mind  is  set  on  a  certain  point ;  you  can  give  your- 
self to  nothing  else.  You  are  looking  forward,  and 
preparing;  every  moment  of  delay  increases  the 
sensitiveness  of  your  mind  as  to  that  one  thing.  A 
servant  waiting  for  his  master,  a  wife  waiting  for 


24  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

the  footstep  of  her  husband,  a  mother  waiting  for 
her  expected  boy,  a  merchant  waiting  for  his  richly- 
laden  ship,  a  sailor  waiting  for  the  sight  of  land,  a 
monarch  waiting  for  tidings  of  the  battle :  all  these 
are  cases  wherein  the  mind  is  set  on  one  object,  and 
can  not  easily  give  attention  to  another. 

"  To-morrow  will  be  Thursday,  a  full  week  from 
the  ascension:  that  will  be  the  day,  the  term  of  the 
promise  will  not  extend  further.  To-morrow  the 
Comforter  will  come ;  to-morrow  we  shall  be  bap- 
tized with  fire,  and  fitted  to  do  the  works  our  Mas- 
ter did,  '  yea,  greater  works  than  these.'  "  So  they 
would  probably  settle  it  in  their  mind.  The  Thurs- 
day finds  them,  as  before,  "  of  one  accord  in  one 
place ;"  no  Thomas  absent  through  unbelief.  How 
the  scene  of  that  day  week  would  return  to  their 
view !  How  they  would  over  and  over  again  in 
mind  repeat  the  walk  from  Jerusalem  to  Olivet; 
each  recalling  what  He  said  to  the  Master,  and  what 
the  Master  said  to  him ;  each  thinking  he  had  got 
such  a  look  as  he  never  got  before,  and  as  he  should 
not  forget  so  long  as  he  lived !  How  they  would 
repeat  the  last  words !  "  Ye  shall  receive  power, 
after  that  the  Holy  Ghost  is  come  upon  you."  In 
the  repetition  new  faith  would  kindle.  "  Yes,  we 
shall;  let  us  wait  on;  we  shall  'be  endued  with 
power  from  on  high.'  "  Then  another  would  re- 
peat, "  And  ye  shall  be  witnesses  to  Me  in  Jerusa- 


THE   WAITING   FOB   THE  FULFILLMENT.  25 

lem,  and  in  all  Judea,  and  in  Samaria,  and  to  the 
uttermost  parts  of  the  earth."  This  was  vast  lan- 
guage for  them,  whose  thoughts  were  wont  to  move 
only  in  the  sphere  of  Palestine.  Probably  they  did 
not  so  much  weigh  the  import  of  the  terms  as  look 
at  the  main  promise.  They  should  be  endued  with 
the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost — that  power  which 
had  made  Psalmists  and  Prophets ;  had  rendered 
the  words  of  Elijah  stronger  than  the  decrees  of 
Ahab,  the  words  of  Elisha  stronger  than  the  armies 
of  Syria,  the  words  of  Isaiah  as  coals  from  the  altar, 
and  the  words  of  Daniel  mightier  than  the  spitit  of 
a  king  and  "  a  thousand  of  his  captains."  Baptized 
with  the  same  Spirit,  they  were  to  proclaim  what 
these  foretold,  but  never  saw :  the  Child  born,  the 
Son  given,  the  Prince  cut  off  for  sin,  but  not  His 
own,  the  Lamb  on  whom  were  laid  the  iniquities  of 
all.  All  this  they  had  seen  fulfilled  in  the  person  of 
their  glorious  Lord.  All  this  they  had  heard  ex- 
plained by  His  own  lips  before  and  after  his  death. 
They  were  to  go  and  prove  to  others,  as  He  had 
proved  to  them,  that  "thus  it  was  written,  and 
thus  it  behooved  Christ  to  suffer,  and  to  rise  again 
the  third  day ;  and  that  repentance  and  remission 
of  sins  should  be  preached  in  His  name  among  all 
nations,  beginning  at  Jerusalem." 

Here  again  they  encountered  the  intimation  that 
their  message  was  for  all,  and  their  testimony  to  be 


26  THE  TONGUE    OF   FIRK. 

borne  to  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth.  Yet  still 
it  seems  not  the  sphere,  but  the  purport,  of  their 
commission  now  occupied  their  mind.  They  were 
to  go,  and  as  He  had  preached,  so  would  they,  far 
and  wide,  in  cities  and  villages.  In  what  tones 
would  they  tell  the  people  that  as  He  used  to  say  to 
those  who  came  to  Him,  "Be  of  good  cheer,  thy 
sins  be  forgiven  thee,"  so  would  He  now  say  from 
Heaven  to  all  who  lifted  an  eye  to  Him ! 

But  the  day  wears  on,  and  no  blessing.  Is  not 
the  delay  long?  " Not  many  days!"  Does  the 
promise  hold  good  ?  They  must  have  felt  disap- 
pointed as  the  evening  fell,  and  no  sign  of  an  an- 
swer to  their  oft-repeated  prayer.  Now  is  the  hour 
of  trial.  Will  their  faith  fail  ?  Will  some  begin  to 
forsake  the  meetings  which  bring  not  the  baptism 
they  seek  ?  Will  some  stay  at  home,  or  "  go  a  fish- 
ing," saying  that  they  will  wait  the  Lord's  time,  and 
not  be  unwarrantably  anxious  about  what,  after  all, 
does  not  depend  on  them,  but  on  the  Lord  ?  Will 
no  one  say,  "We  have  done  our  duty,  and  must 
leave  results.  We  can  not  command  the  fulfillment 
of  the  promise.  We  have  asked  for  it,  asked  sin- 
cerely, fervently,  repeatedly :  we  can  do  more  ?" 

Or,  what  is  equally  probable,  will  they  begin  to 
find  out  that  the  cause  why  they  remain  unblessed, 
and  yet  "  orphans,"  lies  in  the  unfaithfulness  of  their 
companions  ?  Happily  the  spirit  of  faith  and  love 


THE   WAITING   FOB   THE   FULFILLMENT.  2T 

abides  upon  them.  John  does  not  turn  upon  Peter, 
and  say,  "  It  is  your  fault ;  for  you  denied  the  Mas- 
ter." Philip  does  not  turn  to  John  and  say,  "  It  is 
your  fault ;  for  you  and  James  wanted  to  lord  it 
over  us  all."  Andrew  does  not  turn  to  Thomas,  and 
say,  "  It  is  your  fault ;  for  you  would  not  believe, 
even  when  we  had  declared  it  to  you."  The  Sev- 
enty do  not  say,  "  It  is  the  fault  of  the  Twelve ;  for, 
after  the  Lord  had  lifted  them  above  us  all,  one  of 
them  sold  Him,  another  denied  Him,  and  a  third 
disbelieved  Him."  The  Marys  do  not  say,  "  It  is  the 
fault  of  the  whole  company,  a  cold  and  unfaithful 
company,  professing  to  love  the  Master  to  His  face, 
but  the  moment  He  fell  into  the  hands  of  His  ene- 
mies, ye  all  forsook  Him,  and  fled !" 

Well  did  they  know  that  they  had  been  slow  of 
heart;  been  unworthy  of  such  a  Teacher;  often 
grieved  Him,  and  made  Him  ask,  "  How  long  shall 
I  be  with  you  ?"  John  would  never  forget  the  re- 
buke, "  Ye  know  not  what  manner  of  spirit  ye  are 
of."  Peter  would  never  forget,  the  third  time, 
"  Lovest  Thou  Me  ?"  Philip  would  never  forget, 
"  Have  I  been  so  long  time  with  you,  and  yet  hast 
thou  not  known  Me,  Philip  ?"  And  surely  Thomas 
would  never  forget,  "Be  not  faithless,  but  believ- 
ing." 

Yet  they  knew  He  had  not  come  to  call  the 
righteous,  but  sinners  to  repentance.  His  own  lips 


28  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

had  said,  "  He  that  is  whole  hath  no  need  of  a  phy- 
sician, but  he  that  is  sick."  Had  He  not  taken  to 
His  bosom  the  very  head  whose  heats  of  ambition 
and  of  vindictiveness  He  had  rebuked  ?  Had  He 
not  said  to  Peter,  "  Feed  my  lambs  ?"  Had  He  not 
said  to  Thomas,  "Reach  hither  thy  hand?"  His 
promise  was  not  made  because  they  were  a  Church 
without  spot  or  wrinkle ;  but  because  they  were 
feeble,  and,  deprived  of  His  own  presence,  would 
be  orphans  indeed,  did  no  other  power  cover  them. 
He  knew  every  fault  with  which  either  of  them 
could  charge  the  others ;  yet  the  promise  had  passed 
His  lips,  and  the  fire  would  fall  even  on  them,  un- 
worthy as  they  were.  Happy  for  them,  that  none 
fancied  he  could  fix  upon  others  the  cause  of  their 
unanswered  prayers ! 

The  Thursday  is  gone ;  eight  days !  The  Friday 
and  the  Saturday  follow  it,  marked  by  the  same 
persistency  in  union,  in  praise,  in  prayer,  and  by  the 
same  absence  of  encouragement.  Ten  days  gone  ! 
the  promise,  "  Not  many  days,"  is  all  but  broken. 

Peter  was  always  warm  and  earnest.  A  thought 
of  his  had  hardly  time  to  become  a  thought  before 
it  turned  into  either  word  or  action.  When  once 
his  mind  had  embraced  the  glorious  idea  of  stand- 
ing up  before  the  world  a  witness  for  his  ascended 
Master,  it  would  seem  as  if  the  whole  plan  was  to 
be  carried  out  in  a  day.  One  can  not  help  imagin- 


THE    WAITING   FOR   THE   FULFILLMENT.  29 

ing  how  he  bore  the  restraint  of  the  TEN  DAYS — the 
days  of  prayer,  of  belief,  of  waiting — in  which  they 
were  not  permitted  to  begin  their  work. 

"  Strange !"  we  almost  heat  him  say,  "  Strange ! 
The  Lord  has  died  that  repentance  and  remission 
of  sins  should  be  preached  in  His  name  among  all 
nations.  He  has  finished  the  work,  risen  from  the 
dead,  and  led  captivity  captive.  The  Heavens  have 
received  Him.  The  angels  proclaim  Him.  Us  He 
took  from  our  homes ;  how  He  taught,  and  trained, 
and  practiced  us ;  all,  as  we  now  see,  for  this  work 
of  proclaiming  His  love  and  the  pardon  it  brings  to 
ah1  mankind !  Here  we  are,  unfitted  for  every  other 
calling.  His  commission  is  to  us  as  a  Prophet's  call, 
as  a  King's  anointing.  He  said,  'Go  into  ah1  the 
world,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature.' 
We  want  to  go.  Men  stand  in  need :  they  are  dy- 
ing daily ;  dying  in  unbelief.  Why  does  He  not 
permit  us  to  go  ?  Why  is  the  first  command  so 
long  suspended  by  the  other  ?  c  Tarry  ye  in  the 
city  of  Jerusalem  until  ye  be  endued  with  power 
from  on  high.'  We  have  tarried  ten  days.  Why 
does  our  Master  delay?  The  world  needs  the 
sound  of  His  Gospel;  we  are  waiting  to  bear  it 
forth.  He  is  exalted  at  God's  right  hand,  and  all 
power  is  given  unto  Him  in  Heaven  and  in  earth ; 
yet  does  He  look  down  upon  the  world  sleeping  a 
sleep  unto  death,  and  upon  us  waiting  to  blow  the 


30  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

trumpet !  Is  not  His  instruction,  His  commission, 
enough  ?  We  are  ordained,  after  much  teaching  ; 
may  we  not  go?  No;  we  must  abide  by  His 
word :  '  Tarry  until  ye  be  endued  with  power  from 
on  high.'  " 

The  final  proof  given  by  Peter  that  he  was  wait- 
ing indeed,  making  all  preparations  for  the  event, 
was  hi  calling  upon  his  brethren  to  fill  up  the  num- 
ber of  the  Apostles.  One  had  fallen.  His  place 
was  vacant ;  and  another  was  to  take  his  "  bishop- 
ric." Peter  concluded  that  they  were  to  fill  up  this 
vacancy,  and  called  upon  the  company  to  select  two 
men.  No  one  objected  that  it  remained  to  be  seen 
whether  they  should  be  endued  with  power  or  not. 
All  acted  as  feeling  the  certainty  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  was  about  to  come,  and  the  apostolic  com- 
mission to  be  fulfilled  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 


L 


. 


loifcalimnc*)  siH  ^Q&ojr 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  FULFILLMENT   OF  THE  PEOMISE. 

THERE  was  a  day  when  death  had  struck  a  woeful 
stroke,  and  raised  a  nation's  wail.  "  There  was  a 
great  cry  hi  the  land  of  Egypt :  for  there  was  not 
a  house  where  there  was  not  one  dead."  That  same 
day  the  Lord,  by  the  sprinkling  of  a  pure  lamb's 
blood,  averted  death  from  the  doors  of  Israel,  and 
then  led  them  away  from  yoke  and  task-master 
toward  the  goodly  land.  Fifty  days  afterward  they 
reached  the  Mount  of  God,  where  He  manifested 
Himself  in  the  thunder  of  His  power,  with  flame 
and  trumpet,  and  a  VOICE,  whereat  all  the  tribes  did 
tremble.  Then  was  the  new  dispensation  formally 
inaugurated  with  the  voice  and  the  flame ;  its  cov- 
enant sealed  by  sprinkling  of  blood,  and  its  privi- 
leges opened  to  the  sprinkled  by  the  vision  of 
glory,  when  the  Elders  "  saw  the  God  of  Israel : 
and  there  was  under  His  feet  as  it  were  a  paved 
work  of  a  sapphire  stone,  and  as  it  were  the  body 
of  heaven  in  his  clearness."* 

*  Exod.  xxiv.  10. 


32  THE  TONGUE   OF   PIKE. 

This  time  of  note  was  come,  the  fifty  days  were 
elapsed  from  the  time  when  the  Lamb  was  slain,  and 
captivity  broken.  Forty  days  He  had  been  with 
them  after  His  resurrection ;  the  rest  He  had  passed 
within  the  vail.  And  was  it  not  possible  that  in 
saying,  "  Not  many  days,"  He  pointed  them  forward 
to  the  day  which  commemorated  the  opening  of  the 
new  dispensation  of  God  to  Israel  by  the  hand  of 
His  servant  Moses  ?  Was  it  not  probable  that  the 
glorious  dispensation  of  His  Son  would  be  opened 
at  this  time  ?  Unbelief  would  have  long  ago  ceased 
to  expect ;  but  faith  would  probably  renew  its  an- 
ticipations, and  look  to  this  day.* 

On  the  morning  of  the  resurrection,  some — the 
women — were  early  at  the  tomb ;  but  the  others 
were  sauntering  into  the  country,  or  here  and  there, 
with  nothing  to  wait  for,  as  they  thought;  yet 
partly  expecting  something  to  come  to  their  ears. 
Even  late  in  the  day,  when  they  did  meet  to  hear 
what  some  had  seen  and  heard,  Thomas  was  away. 
Now,  however,  after  ten  days  have  elapsed,  their 
patience  is  not  exhausted.  They  do  expect,  and 
therefore  will  not  cease  to  wait.  They  have  no  at- 
tention fbr  any  thing  else.  The  kingdom  of  God  is 
at  hand.  Did  He  not  say,  "  Not  many  days  ?"  Ten 

*  Among  the  many  writers  on  the  temporal  relation  between 
the  Pentacost  and  the  Passover,  no  one  is  familiar  or  clearer 
than  Kuinoel. 


THE  FUIiFILLMENT   OF  THE  PROMISE.  33 

are  gone ;  and  the  conclusion  is,  not  that  of  servants 
too  idle  to  wait :  "  Our  Lord  delayeth  His  coming  • 
we  may  as  well  sit  still.  He  will  come  in  His  own 
good  time."  That  is  not  waiting :  it  is  idling.  They 
said,  in  their  believing  hearts,  "  Ten  days  are  gone ; 
therefore  the  day  of  our  Lord  draweth  nigh.  This 
is  the  day  of  Pentecost ;  and  as  the  fire  appeared 
on  Sinai,  in  the  presence  of  our  fathers,  when  God 
made  His  covenant  by  Moses,  it  may  be  that  to-day 
He  will  seal  His  covenant  by  the  hand  of  the 
Prophet  whom  Moses  foresaw,  baptizing  us  with 
fire,  according  to  the  word  wherein  He  hath  made 
His  servants  to  hope." 

No  Thomas  is  absent  now !  Not  one  heart  has 
failed !  "  They  are  all  in  one  place."  No  discord 
or  doubt  have  they  permitted  to  arise :  "  they  are 
all  with  one  accord  in  one  place."  Nor  are  they 
slow  or  late.  We  are  not  told  at  what  hour  they 
met,  but  it  must  have  been  very  early ;  for  after 
they  had  received  the  baptism,  and  filled  all  Jeru- 
salem with  the  noise  of  their  new  powers,  Peter  re- 
minded the  multitude,  who  came  together,  that  it 
was  only  the  third  hour  of  the  day — nine  o'clock  in 
the  morning. 

Early,  then,  on  the  second  Lord's  day  after  the 
Ascension,  is  the  entire  company  met,  with  one 
heart,  to  renew  their  oft-repeated  prayer.  We  can 
not  go  to  the  house  where  was  that  upper  room ; 


34  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIBE. 

nor  to  the  site  where  it  stood.  These  points  are 
left  unnoticed,  after  the  mode  of  Christianity,  which 
is  in  nothing  a  religion  of  circumstances,  in  every 
thing  a  religion  of  principles.  We  know  not  how 
long  they  had  that  morning  urged  their  prayer,  nor 
whose  voice  was  then  crying  to  Him  who  had 
promised,  nor  what  word  of  the  Master  he  was 
pleading,  nor  what  feelings  of  closer  expectation 
and  more  vivid  faith  were  warming  the  breasts  of 
the  disciples.  But  "  suddenly  there  came  a  sound 
from  heaven  as  of  a  rushing  mighty  wind."  Not, 
mark  you,  a  wind ;  no  gale  sweeping  over  the  city 
struck  the  sides  of  the  house,  and  rustled  round  it. 
But  "from  heaven"  directly  downward  fell  "a 
sound,"  without  shape,  or  step,  or  movement  to  ac- 
count for  it — a  sound  as  if  a  mighty  wind  were 
rushing,  not  along  the  ground,  but  straight  from 
on  high,  like  showers  in  a  dead  calm.  Yet  no 
wind  stirred.  As  to  motion,  the  air  of  the  room 
was  still  as  death ;  as  to  sound,  it  was  awful  as  a 
hurricane. 

Mysterious  sound,  whence  comest  thou  ?  Is  it 
t  lie  Lord  again  breathing  upon  them,  but  this  time 
from  His  throne  ?  Is  it  the  wind  of  Ezekiel  pre- 
paring to  blow  ?  Shaken  by  this  supernatural  sign, 
we  may  see  each  head  bow  low.  Then  timidly 
turning  upward,  John  sees  Peter's  head  crowned 
with  fire ;  Peter  sees  James  crowned  with  fire ; 


THE   FULFILLMENT    OF   THE  PROMISE.  35 

James  sees  Nathanael  crowned  with  fire ;  Nathan- 
ael  sees  Mary  crowned  with  fire ;  and  round  and 
round  the  fire  sits  "  on  each  of  them."  The  Lord 
has  been  mindful  of  His  promise.  The  word  of  the 
Lord  is  tried.  John  was  a  faithful  witness.  Jesus 
was  a  faithful  Redeemer.  He  is  now  glorified ;  for 
the  Holy  Ghost  is  given.  Jesus  "being  by  the 
right  hand  of  God  exalted,  and  having  received  of 
the  Father  the  promise  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  He  hath 
shed  forth  this." 

The  instant  effect  of  the  descent  of  the  Spirit  on 
the  first  Gentile  converts  in  the  house  of  Cornelius 
was,  that  they  began  to  "magnify  God."*  The 
effect  would  be  the  same  in  this  first  case.  That 
bosom  has  yet  to  learn  what  is  the  feeling  of  moral 
sublimity,  which  never  has  been  suddenly  heaved 
with  an  emotion  of  uncontrollable  adoration  to  God 
and  the  Lamb — an  emotion  which,  though  no  voice 
told  whence  it  came,  by  its  movement  in  the  depths 
of  the  soul,  further  down  than  ordinary  feelings 
reach,  did  indicate  somehow  that  the  touch  of  the 
Creator  was  traceable  in  it.  They  only  who  have 
felt  such  unearthly  joy  need  attempt  to  conceive 
the  outburst  of  that  burning  moment.  Body,  soul, 
and  spirit,  glowing  with  one  celestial  fire,  would 
blend,  and  pour  out  their  powers  in  a  rapturous 
"Glory  be  to  God!"  or  "Blessed  be  the  Lord 
*  See  Baumgarten. 


36  THE  TONGUE   OF  FIRE. 

God!"  Modern  believers — not  those  who  never 
unite  in  simple  and  fervent  supplications  at  the 
throne  of  grace,  but  those  who  meet  and  urge  with 
long-repeated  entreaty  their  requests  to  God — can 
recall  times  which  help  them  to  imagine  what  must 
have  been  the  peal  of  praise  that  burst  from  the 
hearts  of  the  hundred  and  twenty,  when  the  bap- 
tism fell  upon  their  souls;  times  when  they  and 
their  friends  have  felt  as  if  the  place  where  they 
met  was  filled  with  the  glory  of  the  Lord. 

One  word  as  to  the  mode  of  this  baptism.  In 
this  case  we  have  the  one  perfectly  clear  account 
contained  in  Scripture  of  the  mode  wherein  the 
baptizing  element  was  applied  to  the  person  of  the 
baptized.  The  element  here  is  fire ;  the  mode  is 
shedding  down — "  hath  shed  forth  this."  "  It  sat 
upon  each  of  them."  Did  baptism  mean  immer- 
sion, they  would  have  been  plunged  into  the  fire, 
not  the  fire  shed  upon  them.  The  only  other  case 
in  which  the  mode  of  contact  between  the  baptizing 
element  and  the  baptized  persons  is  indicated,  is 
this  :  "And  were  all  baptized  to  Moses  in  the  cloud 
and  hi  the  sea."  They  were  not  dipped  in  the 
cloud,  but  the  cloud  descended  upon  them ;  they 
were  not  plunged  into  the  sea,  but  the  sea  sprinkled 
them  as  they  passed.  The  Spirit  signified  by  the 
water  is  never  once  promised  under  the  idea  of  dip- 


VOK0T  tl 
THE   FULFILLMENT   OF   THE   PROMISE.  37 

ping.  Such  an  expression  as,  "  I  will  immerse  you 
in  My  Spirit,"  "  I  will  plunge  you  in  My  Spirit,"  or, 
"  I  will  dip  you  in  clean  water,"  is  unknown  to  the 
Scripture.  But,  "  I  will  pour  out  My  Spirit  upon 
you,"  "I  will  sprinkle  clean  water  upon  you,"  is 
language  and  thought  familiar  to  all  readers  of  the 
Bible.  The  word  "  dip,"  or  "  dipped,"  does  not 
often  occur  in  the  New  Testament;  but  when 
it  does,  the  original  is  never  "  baptize,"  or  "  bap- 
tized."* 

The  fire  is  not  a  shapeless  flame.  It  is  not 
Abram's  lamp,  nor  the  pillar  of  the  desert,  nor  the 
coal  of  Isaiah,  nor  the  infolding  flame  of  Ezekiel. 
It  is  a  tongue;  yea,  cloven  tongues.  On  each 
brow  glows  a  sheet  of  flame,  parted  into  many 
tongues.  Here  was  the  symbol  of  the  new  dispen- 
sation. Christianity  was  to  be  a  Tongue  of  Fire. 
It  was  a  symbol  of  their  "power,"  the  power 
whereby  the  new  kingdom  was  to  be  built  up ;  the 
power  for  which  they  had  so  long  to  tarry,  and  so 
eagerly  to  pray,  when  all  other  things  were  pre- 
pared ;  for  which  the  whole  arrangement  for  the 
world's  conversion  was  commanded  to  stand  still. 
The  appearance  of  this  one  symbol  was  the  signal 
that  former  ones  had  waxed  old,  and  were  ready  to 
vanish  away.  Altar  and  cherubim,  sacrifice  and  in- 
*  It  is  always  Ba?rro,  never 


38  THE   TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

cense,  ephod  and  breast-plate,  Urim  and  Thummim 
— their  work  was  done.  Even  of  the  most  sacred 
emblem  of  all,  that  which  was  the  "pattern  of 
things  in  the  heavens,"  the  Ark  itself,  it  had  been 
foretold,  "They  shall  say  no  more,  The  Ark  of 
the  Covenant  of  the  Lord ;  neither  shall  it  come 
to  mind ;  neither  shall  they  remember  it ;  neither 
shall  they  visit  it;  neither  shall  it  be  magnified 
any  more."  Of  the  temple  itself  the  Master 
had  said,  that  not  one  stone  should  be  left  upon 
another. 

All  the  emblems  of  the  old  dispensation  were 
now  forever  superseded.  In  their  room  the  Lord 
had  appointed  only  two ;  and  they  chosen  with  a 
singular  aptness  at  once  to  suggest  ideas,  and  to 
avoid  image  representation :  the  water,  wherein  the 
mind  could  see  a  symbol  of  the  cleansing  Spirit,  but 
the  eye  no  attempted  likeness :  the  bread  and  wine, 
wherein  the  body  and  the  blood  are  forcibly 
brought  to  mind,  but  no  personal  similitude  set  be- 
fore the  eye.  These  two  only  were  the  unartistic 
emblems  which  Christ  had  ordained  for  His  Church. 
His  was  to  be  a  religion  of  the  understanding  and 
the  heart ;  wholly  resting  on  the  convictions  and 
the  principles,  building  nothing  on  sense,  and  per- 
mitting nothing  to  fancy. 

In  strict  keeping  with  this  spiritual  stamp  of 
Christianity,  was  the  symbol  which,  once  for  all, 


THE   FULFILLMENT   OF  THE  PROMISE.  39 

announced  to  the  Church  the  advent  of  her  con- 
quering power — the  power  by  which  she  was  to 
stand  before  kings,  to  confound  synagogues,  to 
silence  councils,  to  still  mobs,  to  confront  the 
learned,  to  illuminate  the  senseless,  and  to  inflarru1 
the  cold — the  power  by  which,  beginning  at  Jem 
salem,  where  the  name  of  Jesus  was  a  by-word,  she 
was  to  proclaim  His  glory  through  all  Judea, 
throughout  Samaria,  and  throughout  the  uttermost 
parts  of  the  earth.  The  symbol  is  a  TONGUE,  the 
only  instrument  of  the  grandest  war  ever  waged  : 
a  tongue— man's  speech  to  his  fellow  man ;  a  mes- 
sage in  human  words  to  human  faculties,  from  the 
understanding  to  the  understanding,  from  the 
heart  to  the  heart.  A  tongue  of  fire — man's  voice, 
God's  truth  ;  man's  speech,  the  Holy  Spirit's  inspir- 
ation ;  a  human  organ,  a  superhuman  power  :  Not 
one  tongue,  but  cloven  tongues ;  as  the  speech  of 
men  is  various,  here  we  see  the  Creator  taking  to 
Himself  the  language  of  every  man's  mother ;  so 
that  in  the  very  words  wherein  he  heard  her  say, 
"  I  love  thee,"  he  might  also  hear  the  Father  of  all 
say,  "  I  love  thee." 

How  does  that  fire-symbol,  shining  on  the  brow 
of  the  primitive  Church,  rebuke  that  system  which 
would  force  ah1  men  to  worship  God  in  one  tongue, 
and  that  not  a  tongue  of  fire,  but  a  dead  tongue, 
wherein  no  man  now  on  earth  can  hear  his  mother's 


40  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

tones !  Cloven  tongues  sat  on  each  of  them ;  so 
that  each  had  not  only  the  fire-impulse  to  go  and 
tell  aloud  the  message  of  reconciliation,  but  also 
the  fire-token  that  all  mankind,  of  whatever  nation, 
kindred,  people,  or  tongue,  were  heirs  alike  of  the 
Gospel  salvation,  and  of  the  word  whereby  that 
salvation  is  proclaimed. 

Blessed  be  the  hour  when  that  TONGUE  OF  FIRE 
descended  from  the  Giver  of  speech  into  a  cold 
world!  Had  it  never  come,  my  mother  might 
have  led  me,  when  a  child,  to  see  slaughter  for 
worship,  and  I  should  have  taught  my  little  ones 
that  stones  were  gods.  "  Blessed  be  the  Lord  God, 
the  God  of  Israel,  who  only  doeth  wondrous  things ! 
And  blessed  be  His  glorious  name  forever :  and  let 
the  whole  earth  be  filled  with  His  glory !  Amen 
and  Amen !" 


CHAPTER  IV. 

EFFECTS   WHICH    IMMEDIATELY    FOLLOWED    THE 
BAPTISM    OF   FIRE. 

SECTION  L— SPIRITUAL  EFFECTS. 

THE  first  effect  which  followed  this  baptism  01 
fire  is  thus  described :  "  They  were  all  filled  with 
the  Holy  Ghost."  This  expression  is  so  clearly 
joined  with  the  record  of  the  miracle,  that  we 
easily  suppose  that  it  is  itself  intended  to  express 
miraculous  inspiration ;  but  this  is  not  its  constant, 
nor  even  its  most  frequent,  use  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment. It  is  sometimes  employed  to  describe  an 
inspiration  antecedent  to  a  miraculous  manifesta- 
tion, and  sometimes  one  antecedent  to  a  purely 
moral  manifestation.  Examples  of  the  latter  occur 
in  several  cases  of  "speaking  the  word  of  God 
with  boldness,"  when  the  circumstances  were  such 
that  human  nature  unassisted  would  have  shrunk 
from  the  danger. 

John  the  Baptist  wrought  no  miracle;  yet  of 


42  THE   TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

him  it  was  said,  that  he  should  be  "  filled  with  the 
Holy  Ghost  from  his  mother's  womb."  Here  the 
expression  denotes  some  inward  and  spiritual  ope- 
ration, which  may  take  place  in  the  silence  of  an 
infant's  heart,  and  show  its  fruit  in  the  quiet  ways 
of  childhood.  Had  he  been  filled  with  the  Holy 
Ghost  immediately  before  commencing  to  preach, 
we  should  have  connected  the  former  with  the 
latter,  as  an  official,  rather  than  as  an  inward  and 
moral  qualification.  When  men  were  required  to 
fill  the  office  of  Deacons — not  to  work  miracles,  not 
to  speak  with  tongues,  but  to  promote  the  brother- 
hood and  good  feeling  of  the  Church,  by  a  better 
regulation  of  its  daily  relief  to  the  poor — the  quali- 
fication demanded  was,  that  they  should  be  "  men 
full  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  wisdom."  Again, 
Barnabas  "  was  a  good  man  and  full  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  and  of  faith."  This  is  said  of  him,  not  as 
accounting  for  any  miracles  or  tongues,  but  in  rela- 
tion to  the  fact  that,  when  he  had  seen  the  converts 
at  Antioch,  "he  was  glad,  and  exhorted  them  all 
that  with  purpose  of  heart  they  would  cleave  unto 
the  Lord."  Again,  when  the  Apostles  were  first 
called  to  bear  witness  for  Christ  before  the  Rulers, 
"  Peter,  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  said  unto 
them,"  etc.  Here  we  have  no  working  of  miracles, 
no  speaking  with  foreign  tongues ;  but  we  find  the 
man  who,  when  left  to  his  own  strength,  denied  his 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING  THE   BAPTISM   OF   FIRE.        43 

Master,  now  filled  with  a  moral  power  which  makes 
him  bold  to  confess  that  Master's  name,  before  the 
rulers  of  his  people,  and  with  a  wisdom  to  speak 
according  at  once  to  the  oracles  of  God,  and  the 
exigency  of  the  moment. 

After  this  first  persecution  was  reported  to  the 
disciples  generally,  they,  moved  and  distressed,  ap- 
pealed to  the  Lord  in  prayer,  crying,  "  And  now, 
Lord,  behold  their  threatenings ;  and  grant  unto 
Thy  servants,  that  with  all  boldness  they  may  speak 
Thy  word."  The  answer  to  this  prayer  is  recorded 
in  terms  more  striking  than  in  any  other  case,  ex- 
cept that  of  Pentecost  :  "  And  when  they  had 
prayed,  the  place  was  shaken  where  they  were  as- 
sembled together ;  and  they  were  all  filled  with  the 
Holy  Ghost,  and  they  spake  the  word  of  God  with 
boldness."  Here,  being  "  filled  with  the  Holy 
Ghost"  was  not  followed  by  any  miraculous  effects 
whatever,  but  was  an  inspiration,  the  result  of 
which  is  special  moral  strength — strength  to  con- 
front danger  and  shame — strength  to  declare  all  the 
Gospel,  though,  in  so  doing,  they  periled  every 
'interest  dear  to  them. 

Our  Lord  had  promised  to  His  disciples  mirac- 
ulous light  and  power  by  the  Spirit ;  but  it  was 
not  as  a  miracle-working  power  that  He  had  chiefly 
foretold  His  coming.  It  was  as  a  spiritual  power,  a 
comforter,  a  guide  unto  all  truth,  a  revealer  of 


44  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

the  things  of  God,  a  remembrancer  of  the  words 
of  Christ ;  one  who  would  convince  the  world  of 
sin,  of  righteousness,  and  of  judgment ;  one  who 
would  embolden  the  Lord's  servants  to  bear  wit 
ness  before  the  most  terrible  adversaries,  and 
would  guide  their  lips  to  wise  and  convincing 
speech.  Had  it  been  His  design  that  they  should 
expect  the  Holy  Spirit  chiefly  as  a  miraculous  power, 
the  leading  promises  would  have  had  this  aspect. 

When  He  first  clearly  proclaims  that  the  Com- 
forter should  come  as  a  substitute  for  His  own  pres- 
ence, he  marks  the  classes  who  shall  know  Him, 
and  those  who  shah1  not.  The  distinction  between 
them  lies  not  in  apostleship  or  ministry,  not  in  gifts 
or  powers,  but  hi  being  of  the  world,  and  "  not  of 
the  world."  "Whom  the  world  can  not  receive, 
because  it  seeth  Him  not,  neither  knoweth  Him: 
but  ye  know  Hun ;  for  He  dwelleth  with  you,  and 
shall  be  in  you."*  Not,  "  For  He  will  work  mira- 
cles by  you."  That  was  not  promised  to  all.  Not, 
"He  will  prophesy  by  you."  That  He  did  not 
promise  to  all.  But  He  did  promise  to  ah1  who  are 
"not  of  the  world,"  that  He  should  dwell  with 
them  and  be  in  them.  Nor  is  this  promise  confined 
to  the  apostolic  age,  or  to  the  times  immediately 
succeeding.  "That  He  may  abide  with  you  for- 
ever," gives  an  interest  in  the  personal  influences 
*  John  xiv.  17. 


EFFECTS  FOLLOWING  THE  BAPTISM   OF  FIRE.        45 

of  the  Comforter  to  the  disciples  of  all  ages,  as  well 
as  to  those  of  the  first  days. 

This  promised  substitute  for  the  personal  presence 
of  Christ,  was  one  whom  the  world  should  not  see — 
who  was  to  be  invisible  to  the  natural  eye,  undis- 
cernible  by  the  natural  mind ;  yet  known  and  dis- 
cerned^  by  believers,  though  not  seen ;  known,  not 
by  outward  sign,  but  by  inward  consciousness.  Our 
Lord's  expression  is  to  be  strictly  noted:  "The 
world  seeth  Him  not,  neither  knoweth  Him ;  but  ye 
know  Him :"  not,  "  Ye  see  and  know  Him."  In  one 
respect  the  disciples  and  the  world  were  to  be  alike ; 
neither  should  see  Him.  Yet  the  disciples  should 
"know"  Him;  for  "He  dwelleth  with  you,  and 
shall  be  in  you."  Their  knowledge  of  Him  was  to 
come  not  by  sense,  but  by  consciousness.  Was  this 
"being  in  them"  to  be  an  ordinary  grace  of  be- 
lievers, or  to  be  coupled  only  with  office  or  super- 
natural endowments  ?  The  want  of  it  is  made  by 
St.  Paul  conclusive  against  the  claim  of  any  man  to 
be  considered  even  a  member  of  Christ :  "  Ye  are 
not  in  the  flesh,  but  in  the  Spirit,  if  so  be  that  the 
Spirit  of  God  dwell  in  you.  Now  if  any  man  have 
not  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  he  is  none  of  His."  This 
passage,  however,  like  many  others,  expresses  only 
a  participation  of  the  Spirit  in  some  degree,  without 
indicating  what  that  degree  might  be ;  learing  it 
open  to  doubt,  were  there  no  other  passages  bearing 


46  THE  TONGUE    OF   FIRE. 

upon  the  point,  whether  some  might  not  be  blessed 
with  the  indwelling  of  the  Spirit,  who  yet  were  to 
be  debarred  from  the  fuller  privilege  expressed  in 
the  strong  words,  "filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost." 

The  Apostles  themselves  had  doubtless  received 
the  Spirit  in  some  measure  before  the  day  of  Pen- 
tecost ;  for  our  Lord  had  breathed  upon  them  im- 
mediately after  His  resurrection,  and  said,  "  Receive 
ye  the  Holy  Ghost."  Yet  in  the  time  which  inter- 
vened between  that  and  Pentecost,  whatever  might 
have  been  the  advancement  of  their  spiritual  condi- 
tion beyond  what  it  was  before,  it  rested  far  behind 
that  which  immediately  followed  upon  the  baptism 
of  fire.  It  was  only  then  that  they  were  "filled 
with  the  Holy  Ghost."  We  find,  however,  that 
even  the  expression,  "  be  filled,"  is  applied  broadly 
to  ordinary  believers ;  and  that,  too,  not  merely  as 
describing  the  actual  enjoyments  of  some  individ- 
uals, but  as  a  precept  applicable  to  all :  "  Be  not 
drunken  with  wine,  wherein  is  excess,  but  be  filled 
with  the  Spirit."  Whatever  is  meant  by  being 
u  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost"  is,  by  these  plain 
words,  laid  upon  us  as  our  duty.  Looking  at  it  in 
the  aspect  of  a  duty,  and  thinking  of  the  moral 
height  which  the  expression  indicates  above  our 
ordinary  life,  we  shrink.  Can  such  an  obligation 
lie  upon  us  ?  Is  it  not  commanding  the  purblind  to 
gaze  upon  the  sun  ?  And  yet,  whatever  is  the  duty 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING  THE   BAPTISM   OF   FIBE.        47 

of  man  must  be  the  will  of  God.  In  this  view, 
then,  the  commandment  seems  to  carry  even  a 
stronger  encouragement  than  the  promise — seems, 
in  fact,  to  sum  up  many  promises  in  one  conclusive 
appeal,  saying,  "ALL  things  are  now  ready.  The 
Lord  has  provided ;  the  fountain  is  open ;  the  pure 
river  of  the  water  of  life,  clear  as  crystal,  is  pro- 
ceeding out  of  the  throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb ; 
you  are  called  to  its  banks,  and  with  you  it  rests  to 
drink  and  be  filled  with  the  Spirit." 

He  who  has  not  received  the  Holy  Ghost  has  not 
yet  entered  into  the  real  Christian  life,  does  not 
know  the  "peace  which  passeth  understanding," 
has  in  no  sense  "  Christ  in  Him  the  hope  of  glory." 
He  is  still  "  in  the  flesh,"  in  his  natural  and  carnal 
state ;  for  the  Spirit  of  God  does  not  dwell  in  him. 
The  difference  between  receiving  the  Spirit  and 
being  filled  with  the  Spirit,  is  a  difference  not  of 
kind,  but  of  degree.  In  the  one  case,  the  light  of 
heaven  has  reached  the  dark  chamber,  disturbing 
night,  but  leaving  some  obscurity  and  some  deep 
shadows.  In  the  other,  that  light  has  filled  the 
whole  chamber,  and  made  every  corner  bright. 
This  state  of  the  soul — being  "  filled  with  the  Holy 
Ghost" — is  the  normal  antecedent  of  true  prophetic 
or  miraculous  power,  but  may  exist  without  it : 
vlthout  it,  in  individuals  who  are  never  endowed 
with  the  gift  either  of  prophecy  or  of  miracles; 


48  THE  TONGUE   OF  FIRE. 

without  it,  in  individuals  who  have  such  powers,  but 
in  whom  they  are  not  in  action,  as  in  John  the  Bap- 
tist before  his  ministry  commenced. 

Eyesight  is  the  necessary  basis  of  what  is  called 
a  painter's  or  a  poet's  eye ;  the  sense  of  hearing, 
the  necessary  basis  of  what  is  called  a  musical  ear : 
yet  eyesight  may  exist  where  there  is  no  poet's  or 
painter's  eye,  and  hearing  where  there  is  no  musical 
ear.  So  may  the  human  soul  be  "  filled  with  the 
Holy  Ghost,"  having  every  faculty  illuminated,  and 
every  affection  purified,  without  any  miraculous 
gift.  On  the  other  hand,  the  miraculous  power 
does  not  necessarily  imply  the  spiritual  fullness;  for 
Paul  puts  the  supposition  of  speaking  with  tongues, 
prophesying,  removing  mountains,  and  yet  lacking 
charity,  that  love  which  must  be  shed  abroad  in 
every  heart  that  is  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

"Filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost!"  Thrice  blessed 
word !  thanks  be  to  God,  that  ever  the  tongues  of 
men  were  taught  it !  It  declares  not  only  that  the 
Lord  has  returned  to  His  temple  in  the  human  soul, 
but  that  He  has  filled  the  house  with  His  glory ; 
pervaded  every  chamber,  every  court,  by  His  man- 
ifested presence. 

"  That  ye  might  be  filled  with  all  the  fullness  of 
God,"  is  a  prayer  at  which  we  falter.  Is  it  not  too 
much  to  ask  ?  Is  it  not  a  sublime  flight  after  the 
impossible?  Lot  us  remember  it  is  not,  "That  ye 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING  THE  BAPTISM   OF   FIRE.        49 

might  contain  all  the  fullness  of  God."  That  would 
be  more  impossible  than  that  your  chamber  should 
contain  all  the  light  of  the  sun.  But  it  can  be  filled 
with  the  light  of  the  sun — so  filled  that  not  a  par- 
ticle of  unillumined  air  shall  remain  within  it. 
When,  therefore,  the  hand  of  the  Apostle  leads 
you  up  toward  the  countenance  of  your  Father ; 
when  you  approach  to  see  the  light  which  outshines 
all  lights,  "  the  glory  of  God  in  the  face  of  Christ 
Jesus,"  put  away  all  thought  of  containing  what 
the  heavens  can  not  contain;  but,  humbly  open- 
ing thy  heart,  say,  "Infinite  Light,  fill  this  little 
chamber !" 

Reason  says,  "  It  may  be ;"  Scripture  says,  "  It 
may  be ;"  but  a  shrinking  of  the  heart  says,  "  It 
can  not  be ;  we  can  never  c  be  filled  with  all  the 
fullness  of  God.'  "  When  Paul  had  uttered  that 
prayer,  perhaps  this  same  shrinking  of  heart  had 
almost  come  over  him :  how  does  he  meet  it  ? 
Glancing  down  at  his  wonderful  petition,  and  up  at 
his  Almighty  King,  he  breaks  out,  "  Now  unto  Him 
that  is  able  to  do  exceeding  abundantly  above  all 
that  we  ask  or  think,  according  to  the  power  that 
worketh  in  us ;  unto  Him  be  glory  in  the  Church 
by  Christ  Jesus  throughout  all  ages,  world  without 
end.  Amen."  Yea,  Amen,  ten  thousand  thousand 
times.  The  words  of  this  doxology  had  been  holy 
and  blessed  in  any  connection ;  but  they  are  doubly 


50  THE  TONGUE   OF  FIRE. 

blessed,  closely  following,  as  they  do,  the  prayer, 
"That  ye  might  be  filled  with  the  fullness  of  God." 
Nor  should  we  forget  that  the  power  which  Paul 
here  adores  is  not  some  abstract  and  unmoved 
power  of  Deity,  but  "  the  power  which  worketh  in 
us."  What  is  this  power?  The  Holy  Ghost — 
"  might  by  His  Spirit  in  the  inner  man." 

What  a  labor  of  expression  do  we  find  in  2  Cor. 
ix.  8,  when  Paul  wants  to  convey  his  own  idea  of 
the  power  of  grace,  as  practically  enabling  men  to 
do  the  will  of  God !  "  And  God  is  able  to  make 
all  grace  abound  toward  you ;  that  ye,  always  hav- 
ing all  sufficiency  in  all  things,  may  abound  to  every 
good  work."  Here  we  have  "  abound"  twice,  and 
"  all"  four  times,  in  one  short  sentence.*  "Abound" 
means  not  only  to  fill,  but  to  overflow.  The  double 
overflow,  first  of  grace  from  God  to  us,  then  of  the 
same  grace  from  us  to  "  every  good  work,"  is  a 
glorious  comment  on  our  Lord's  word :  "He  that 
believeth  Me,  as  the  Scripture  hath  said,  out  of  his 
belly  shall  flow  rivers  of  water.  But  this  spake 
He  of  the  Spirit  which  they  that  believe  on  Him 
should  receive :  fbr  the  Holy  Ghost  was  not  yet 
given,  because  that  Jesus  was  not  yet  glorified." 
The  believer's  heart,  in  itself  incapable  of  holy  liv- 
ing, as  a  marble  cistern  of  yielding  a  constant 

*  In  the  Greek  TTG^  occurs  five  times,  the  last  being  rfuv  ipyov 
dyatiov,  rendered,  "  ev&ry  good  work." 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING  THE   BAPTISM   OF   FIEE.        51 

stream,  is  placed,  like  the  cistern,  in  communication 
with  an  invisible  source ;  the  source  constantly 
overflows  into  the  cistern,  and  it  again  overflows. 
Happy  the  heart  thus  filled,  thus  overflowing  with 
the  Holy  Spirit!  Where  is  the  fountain  of  those 
living  waters,  that  we  may  bring  our  hearts 
thither  ?  "  He  showed  me  a  pure  river  of  water 
of  life,  clear  as  crystal,  proceeding  out  of  the  throne 
of  God  and  of  the  Lamb."*  There  is  the  fount, 
there  the  stream ;  the  Spirit  proceeding  from 
the  Father  and  the  Son.  To  the  throne  of  grace ! 
to  the  mercy-seat!  and  you  are  at  the  fountain 
of  all  life.  Nor  seek  a  scant  supply  at  that 
source.  "  Be  filled  with  the  Spirit,"  sounds  in 
your  ears ;  and,  if  you  believe,  not  only  will  a  well 
"  spring  up  within"  you,  but  rivers  shall  flow  out 
from  you. 

The  Spirit,  as  replenishing  the  believer  with 
actual  virtues  and  practical  holiness,  is  ever  kept 
before  our  eye  in  the  apostolic  writings.  "  That 
ye  might  walk  worthy  of  the  Lord  unto  all  pleas- 
ing, being  fruitful  in  every  good  work,  and  in- 
creasing in  the  knowledge  of  God ;  strengthened 
with  all  might,  according  to  His  glorious  power, 
unto  all  patience  and  long-suffering  with  joyful- 
ness." 

Putting  these  various  expressions  together,  what 
*  Rev.  xxii.  1 


52  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIBE. 

a  view  do  they  give  of  the  riches  of  grace  ! — "  all 
sufficiency,"  "  in  all  things,"  "  always,"  "  abound  to 
every  good  work,"  "  fruitful  in  every  good  work," 
"  strengthened  with  all  might,"  "  according  to  His 
glorious  power,"  "  according  to  the  power  which 
worketh  in  us,"  "  filled  with  all  the  fullness  of  God." 
Eternal  Spirit,  proceeding  from  the  Father  and  the 
Son,  answer  and  disperse  all  our  unbelief  by  filling 
our  hearts  with  Thyself! 

The  expression,  "filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost," 
places  before  us  the  human  spirit  restored  to  its 
original  and  highest  fellowship.  In  many  respects 
that  spirit  is  alone  in  this  world.  It  finds  here 
nothing  that  is  its  own  equal.  Every  thing  upon 
which  it  can  look  is  its  inferior  in  both  nature  and 
powers.  Earth  and  sky,  beasts  and  birds,  are  the 
instruments  of  its  comfort,  or  the  subjects  of  its 
thoughts ;  but  never  can  share  in  its  cares  or  affec- 
tions. The  fields  never  say,  "We  enjoy  thy  pres- 
ence," nor  the  stars,  "We  return  thine  admira- 
tion." The  lower  animals  can  take  no  part  in  its 
deep  movements  of  hope  and  fear;  can  shed  no 
light  on  its  problems  of  justice,  pardon,  and  the 
world  to  come.  In  the  spirit  of  its  fellow-man 
alone  can  it  find  an  equal ;  and  communion  with  it, 
though  it  often  solaces,  often  both  wounds  and 
defiles.  Yet  it  is  the  nature  of  man  to  seek  an  ob- 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING   THE   BAPTISM    OF   FIRE.        53 

ject  kindred  to  himself,  but  superior.  Probably 
this  is  necessary  to  all  natures  which  are  at  the 
same  time  rational  and  finite.  But  where  can  man 
find  a  being  kindred  to  himself,  and  yet  superior  to 
him  ?  Below  the  sky  he  is  head,  yet  upward  his 
instincts  turn — upward  toward  some  one  brighter 
or  greater  than  himself. 

What  can  answer  to  those  upward  aspirations  of 
the  soul  ?  Its  Creator.  After  years  spent  in  search 
of  happiness,  the  human  spirit  penitently  returns 
toward  its  God,  and,  trusting  in  the  atonement  of 
His  Son,  finds  forgiveness  for  the  past.  Then  does 
the  great  Comforter,  the  Witness  of  the  Father's 
love,  the  Spirit  of  adoption,  give  the  manifestation 
of  the  Divine  favor  which  David  delighted  to  call 
"  the  light  of  Thy  countenance."  This  manifesta- 
tion may  be  gentle,  or  it  may  be  rapturous  ;  but  in 
any  case  it  is  comforting.  When  gentlest,  it 
touches  chords  of  satisfaction  more  delicate  than 
were  ever  reached  by  the  most  subtle  joy  of  intel- 
lect ;  when  most  rapturous,  it  carries  with  it  an  as- 
sent of  the  whole  judgment  such  as  no  previous 
enjoyment,  however  tranquil,  commanded.  The 
thirst  of  the  soul  has  no  deeper  seat  than  is  now 
reached.  Wisdom  has  no  remonstrance,  expecta- 
tion no  disappointment,  fear  no  warning.  It  may 
be  in  a  profound  calm,  it  may  be  in  an  unspeakable 
joy;  but  it  is  with  core-deep  consciousness  that  the 


54  THE  TONGUE  OF  FIRE. 

soul  feels  it  has  now  touched,  yea,  tasted,  its  su- 
preme good,  and  that,  for  time  or  for  eternity,  it 
needs  no  more  than  to  abide  in  this  blessedness,  and 
improve  this  fellowship.  The  gloomy  chamber  of 
which  we  spoke  a  little  while  ago  was  entered  by 
the  sunbeams  noiselessly  and  impalpably ;  no  hand 
could  feel,  no  ear  could  hear  them  as  they  came ; 
nothing  but  an  eye  within  that  chamber  could  dis- 
cern the  great  change.  It  remains  the  same 
chamber,  with  the  same  contents ;  yet  every  thing 
is  changed,  even  to  the  very  air.  So  it  is  with  the 
soul  of  man  when  the  Lord  saith,  "  My  Father  will 
love  him,  and  We  will  come  unto  him,  and  make 
Our  abode  with  him."  This  is  not  only  the  presence 
of  God  with  the  spirit  of  man,  but  a  special  and  a 
manifested  presence. 

How  can  that  be  special  which  is  universal  ? 
God  is  not  far  from  every  one  of  us ;  every  man 
who  moves  upon  the  earth  moves  in  Him.  How 
then  can  He  be  specially  present  with  one  man 
more  than  with  another  ?  Strictly  speaking,  per- 
haps it  is  more  a  question  of  manifestation  than  of 
presence.  Electric  agency  may  be  present  every- 
where; but  it  rarely  makes  itself  visible  in  a  flash. 
Heat  may  be  present  everywhere ;  but  is  not  every- 
where manifested  by  fire.  Jude  said,  "  Lord,  how 
is  it  that  Thou  wilt  manifest  Thyself  unto  us,  and 
not  unto  the  world  ?"  God  is  with  all,  but  is  un- 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING  THE  BAPTISM   OF   FIRE.        55 

seen  by  any  eye,  and,  alas !  undiscerned  by  many 
a  spirit.  He  does  not  withdraw  His  presence 
from  any  part  of  His  universe,  or  His  care  from 
any  of  His  creatures ;  but,  as  a  human  frame  may 
be  moving  amid  the  light  of  the  sun,  and  see 
no  light,  so  may  a  soul  be  moving  in  that 
.universe  which  is  fuller  of  God  than  the  atmos- 
phere at  noontide  is  of  sunbeams,  and  yet  discern 
no  God. 

All  objects  require  a  suitable  faculty,  or  they  are 
unperceived :  sound  exists  not  to  the  eye ;  light 
exists  not  to  the  ear ;  flavor  exists  not  to  the 
touch.  It  is  of  no  avail  that  an  object  is,  unless 
our  nature  has  the  special  faculty  whereby  we  can 
descry  its  presence.  A  strong  magnetic  power 
may  be  acting  on  the  compass,  whereon  the  steers- 
man concentrates  his  attention ;  but  eye,  ear,  hand, 
smell,  taste,  give  no  report  of  its  presence  to  the 
mind ;  and  he  first  learns  that  it  was  there,  by  the 
crash  of  the  ship  on  a  coast  which  he  thought  was 
far  away. 

Our  Lord  said,  in  reply  to  Jude,  "  If  any  man 
love  Me,  he  will  keep  My  word ;  and  My  Father 
will  love  him,  and  We  will  come  unto  him,  and 
make  Our  abode  with  him."  This  is  more  than 
mere  presence.  Presence  may  be  unfelt,  and  there- 
fore forgotten ;  may  be  with  displeasure,  and  there- 
fore joyless.  But  this  is  presence  manifested — "We 


56  THE  TONGUE   OF  FIBE. 

will  come  to  him ;"  gracious — the  coming  is  from 
"  love ;"  habitual  and  involving  fellowship — both 
of  these  ideas  He  in,  "  Make  our  abode  with  him." 

Two  men  are  walking  upon  the  same  plain,  and 
each  turns  his  face  toward  the  sky.  The  light  of 
the  sun  is  shining  upon  both,  but  one  sees  no  sun, 
while  the  other  sees  not  only  light,  but  the  face  of 
the  sun,  and  his  eye  is  overpowered  with  its  glory. 
What  makes  the  difference  between  the  two  ?  Not 
that  one  is  in  darkness,  and  the  other  in  light ;  not 
that  one  is  near  the  sun,  and  the  other  far  away ; 
not  that  one  has  an  eye  differently  constituted  from 
the  other ;  but  simply  that  there  is  a  thin  cloud  be- 
tween heaven  and  the  one,  and  no  cloud  between  it 
and  the  other.  The  latter  can  not  only  trace  evi- 
dence that  there  is  a  sun,  and  that  he  is  up,  but  has 
the  presence  of  that  sun  before  his  face,  and  his 
glory  filling  his  eye.  So  two  men  stand  in  relation 
to  the  universal  and  all-present  God.  One  believes, 
infers,  intellectually  knows,  that  He  is ;  ay,  that  He 
is  present ;  yet  he  discerns  Him  not :  it  is  a  matter 
of  inference,  not  of  consciousness ;  and  though  be- 
lieving that  God  is,  and  that  He  is  present,  he  sins 
Another  spiritually  discerns,  feels  His  presence; 
and  he  learns  to  "  stand  in  awe,  and  sin  not." 

Suppose  the  case  of  a  cripple  who  had  spent  his 
life  in  a  room  where  the  sun  was  never  seen.  He 
has  heard  of  its  existence,  he  believes  in  it,  and,  in- 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING  THE   BAPTISM   OF   FIKE.        57 

deed,  has  seen  enough  of  its  light  to  give  him  high 
ideas  of  its  glory.  Wishing  to  see  the  sun,  he  is 
taken  out  at  night  into  the  streets  of  an  illuminated 
city.  At  first,  he  is  delighted,  dazzled ;  but,  after 
he  has  had  time  to  reflect,  he  finds  darkness  spread 
amid  the  lights,  and  he  asks,  "  Is  this  the  sun  ?" 
He  is  taken  out  under  the  starry  sky,  and  is  en- 
raptured ;  but  on  reflection  finds  that  night  covers 
the  earth,  and  again  asks,  "  Is  this  the  sun  ?"  He 
is  carried  out  some  bright  day  at  noontide,  and  no 
sooner  does  his  eye  open  on  the  sky  than  all  ques- 
tion is  at  an  end.  There  is  but  one  sun.  His  eye 
is  content :  it  has  seen  its  highest  object,  and  feels 
that  there  is  nothing  brighter.  So  with  the  soul :  it 
enjoys  all  lights ;  yet,  amid  those  of  art  and  nature, 
is  still  inquiring  for  something  greater.  But  when 
it  is  led  by  the  reconciling  Christ  into  the  presence 
of  the  Father,  and  He  lifts  up  upon  it  the  light  of 
His  countenance,  all  thought  of  any  thing  greater 
disappears.  As  there  is  but  one  sun,  so  there  is  but 
one  God.  The  soul  which  once  discerns  and  knows 
Him,  feels  that  greater  or  brighter  there  is  none, 
and  that  the  only  possibility  of  ever  beholding  more 
glory  is  by  drawing  nearer. 

The  operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit  implies  a  quick- 
ening of  the  nature  of  man  by  an  impartation  of 
the  Divine  nature,  and  every  increase  of  it  implies 
a  fuller  communion  of  the  Eternal  Father  with  His 


58  THE  TOEOTE   OF  FIKE. 

adopted  child.  When  the  soul  of  man  is  "  filled 
with  the  Holy  Ghost,"  then  has  God  that  wherein 
He  does  rejoice,  "a  temple  not  made  with  hands," 
not  reared  by  human  art,  of  unconscious  and  insen- 
sible material ;  a  temple  created  by  His  own  word, 
and  living  by  His  own  breath.  In  that  living  tem- 
ple He  displays  somewhat  of  His  glory.  In  the 
Shekinah  of  the  sanctuary  He  could  manifest  majesty 
only.  In  this  living  temple  He  can  manifest  truth, 
purity,  tenderness,  forgiveness,  justice — the  whole 
round  of  such  attributes  as  His  children  below  the 
sky  are  capable  of  comprehending. 

Thus  inhabited,  not  only  is  the  soul  of  man  un- 
utterably blessed,  but  his  body  reaches  dignity,  the 
thought  of  which  might  make  even  flesh  sing.  ' '  YOUR 
BODY  is  the  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost  which  is  in 
you,  which  ye  have  of  God ;  and  ye  are  not  your 
own."  N"ot  your  own,  for  purchase  has  been  made : 
"  Ye  are  bought  with  a  price ;"  not  your  own,  for 
possession  has  been  taken :  "  Know  ye  not  that  ye 
are  the  temple  of  God,  and  that  the  Spirit  of  God 
dwelleth  in  you  .?"*  A  holy  man,  whose  presence 
breathes  an  unworldly  air  around  him,  whose  name 
is  identified  with  a  constancy  of  godly  actions,  is  a 
visible  monument  and  remembrancer  of  God.  Each 
member  of  his  body  is  as  a  temple  vessel.  By  it 
hoJy  works  are  done,  and  the  will  of  the  parent 
*  1  Cor.  iii.  16,  etc. 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING  THE  BAPTISM   OF  FIRE.        59 

Spirit  on  moral  points  expressed  by  material  instru- 
ments. His  spirit  is  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God. 
His  "mortal  body"  is  quickened  by  the  Spirit 
"that  dwelleth  in  him."  He  not  only  "lives  in 
the  Spirit,"  but  "  walks  in  the  Spirit" — his  visible 
acts,  as  well  as  his  hidden  emotions,  being  "  after 
the  Spirit."  The  natural  man  has  disappeared 
from  his  life  and  actions.  Another  creature  lives. 
Thoughts,  purposes,  works,  which  his  nature  never 
prompted,  which,  when  prompted  by  revelation,  his 
nature  could  not  attain  to,  now  abound,  as  sweet 
grapes  on  a  good  vine.  This  precept  is  embodied 
in  his  life :  "  Neither  yield  ye  your  members  as  in- 
struments of  unrighteousness  unto  sin;  but  yield 
yourselves  unto  God  as  those  that  are  alive  from 
the  dead,  and  your  members  as  instruments  of 
righteousness  unto  God."* 

In  this  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  is  practically 
manifested  by  a  reversal  of  the  relations  of  the 
human  spirit  and  the  flesh.  To  persons  yet  in  the 
body,  the  Apostle  says,  "Ye  are  not  in  the  flesh, 
but  in  the  Spirit,  if  so  be  the  Spirit  of  God  dwell 
tn  you."  Not  in  the  flesh,  yet  in  the  body !  The 
unconverted  man  has  a  spirit,  but  it  is  carnalized  ; 
the  play  of  its  powers — the  studies  of  the  intellect, 
the  flights  of  the  imagination,  the  impulses  of  the 
heart,  are  dictated  by  motives  which  all  range  be- 
*  Bom.  vi.  13. 


60  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

low  the  sky  and  halt  on  this  side  of  the  tomb.  The 
spirit  is  the  servant  of  the  flesh ;  and  man  differs 
from  perishing  animals  chiefly  in  this,  that  for  carnal 
purposes  and  delights  he  commands  the  service  of  a 
spiritual  agent — his  own  soul. 

The  Holy  Spirit,  as  man's  regenerator,  reverses 
this  state  of  things.  He  quickens  the  spirit,  and 
through  it  quickens  the  frame,  so  that  instead  of 
spiritual  powers  being  carnalized,  a  mortal  body  is 
spiritualized ;  instead  of  soul  and  spirit  being  sub- 
jected by  the  flesh,  flesh  and  blood  become  instru- 
ments of  the  Spirit.  Limbs  move  on  works  of 
heavenly  origin  and  intent.  Thus  a  direct  connec- 
tion is  established  between  the  will  of  the  Supreme 
Spirit  and  the  material  organs  of  man.  A  purpose 
originates  in  the  mind  of  God ;  by  His  Spirit  it  is 
silently  and  swiftly  transmitted  to  the  spirit  of  His 
child ;  and  by  this  to  the  "  mortal  body."  Then,  as 
an  iron  wire,  on  the  shore  of  the  Crimea,  expresses 
the  will  of  our  Queen  in  London,  so  do  the  earthly 
members  of  a  mortal  express,  in  the  outward  and 
physical  world,  the  purpose  of  the  Holy  One.  This 
is  redemption  achieved :  this  is  adoption  in  its  is- 
sues :  this  is  the  new  life :  this  is  human  nature  re- 
stored, man  walking  in  the  light ;  "  God  dwelling 
in  him,  and  he  in  God."  Then  his  life  is  a  light, 
and  a  light  so  pure,  that  it  gives  those  on  whom  it 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING  THE  BAPTISM   OF   FIKE.        61 

shines,  not  the  idea  of  "  good  nature,"  but  of  some- 
thing heavenly.  They  see  his  good  works,  and 
"  glorify  his  Father  which  is  in  Heaven :"  not  extol 
his  character ;  but  feel  that  he  is  raised  above  his 
own  character,  and  is  "  GocPs  workmanship,  created 
anew  in  Christ  Jesus  unto  good  works." 

A  piece  of  iron  is  dark  and  cold ;  imbued  with  a 
certain  degree  of  heat,  it  becomes  almost  burning 
without  any  change  of  appearance ;  imbued  with  a  still 
greater  degree,  its  very  appearance  changes  to  that 
of  solid  fire,  and  it  sets  fire  to  whatever  it  touches. 
A  piece  of  water  without  heat  is  solid  and  brittle ; 
gently  warmed,  it  flows ;  further  heated,  it  mounts 
to  the  sky.  An  organ  filled  with  the  ordinary  de- 
gree of  air  which  exists  everywhere,  is  dumb ;  the 
touch  of  the  player  can  elicit  but  a  clicking  of  the 
keys.  Throw  in  not  another  air,  but  an  unsteady 
current  of  the  same  air,  and  sweet,  but  imperfect 
and  uncertain,  notes  immediately  respond  to  the 
player's  touch :  increase  the  current  to  a  full  supply, 
and  every  pipe  swells  with  music.  Such  is  the  soul 
without  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and  such  are  the  changes 
which  pass  upon  it  when  it  receives  the  Holy  Ghost, 
and  when  it  is  "  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost."  In  the 
latter  state  only  is  it  fully  imbued  with  the  Divine 
nature,  bearing  in  all  its  manifestations  some  plain 
resemblance  to  its  God,  conveying  to  all  on  whom 
it  acts  some  impression  of  Him,  mounting  heaven- 


62  THE  TONGUE   OF  FIRE. 

ward  in  all  its  movements,  and  harmoniously  pour- 
ing forth,  from  all  its  faculties,  the  praises  of  the 
Lord. 

The  moral  change  wrought  in  the  disciples,  by 
the  new  baptism  of  the  Spirit,  is  strikingly  dis- 
played in  the  case  of  one  man.  A  difficult  service 
was  to  be  performed  in  Jerusalem  that  day.  Had 
it  been  desired  to  find  a  man  in  London  who  would 
have  gone  down  to  Whitehall  a  few  weeks  after 
Charles  was  beheaded,  and,  addressing  Cromwell's 
soldiers,  have  endeavored  to  persuade  them  that  he 
whom  they  had  executed  was  not  only  a  King 
and  a  good  one,  but  a  Prophet  of  God,  and  that, 
therefore,  they  had  been  guilty  of  more  than  regi- 
cide— of  sacrilege ;  although  England  had  brave 
men  then,  it  may  be  questioned  whether  any  one 
could  have  been  found  to  bear  such  a  message  to 
that  audience. 

The  service  which  had  then  to  be  performed  in 
Jerusalem  was  similar  to  this.  It  was  needful  that 
some  one  should  stand  up  under  the  shadow  of  the 
temple,  and  braving  Chief  Priests  and  mobs  alike, 
assert  that  He  whom  they  had  shamefully  executed 
seven  weeks  ago,  was  Israel's  long  looked-for  Mes- 
siah ;  that  they  had  been  guilty  of  a  sin  which  had 
no  name ;  had  raised  their  hands  against  "  God 
manifest  in  the  flesh ;"  had,  in  words  strange  to 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING   THE  BAPTISM    OF   FIRE.        63 

human  ears,  "  kitted  the  Prince  of  Life."  Who 
was  thus  to  confront  the  rage  of  the  mob,  and  the 
malice  of  the  Priests  ?  We  see  a  man  rising,  filled 
with  a  holy  fire,  so  that  he  totally  forgets  his 
danger,  and  seems  not  even  conscious  that  he  is 
doing  a  heroic  act.  He  casts  back  upon  the  mock- 
ers their  charge,  and  proceeds  to  open  and  to  press 
home  his  tremendous  accusation,  as  if  he  were  a 
King  upon  a  throne,  and  each  man  before  him  a 
lonely  and  defenceless  culprit. 

Who  is  this  man  ?  Have  we  not  seen  him  be- 
fore? Is  it  possible  that  it  can  be  Peter?  We 
know  him  of  old :  he  has  a  good  deal  of  zeal,  but 
little  steadiness  ;  he  means  well,  and,  when  matters 
are  smooth,  can  serve  well ;  but  when  difficulties 
and  adversaries  rise  before  him,  his  moral  courage 
fails.  How  shor'  a  time  is  it  ago  since  we  saw  him 
tried !  He  had  been  resolving  that,  come  what 
might,  he  would  stand  by  his  Master  to  the  last. 
Others  might  flinch,  he  would  stand.  Soon  the 
Master  was  *m  the  hands  of  enemies.  Yet  his  case 
was  by  no  means  lost.  The  Governor  was  on  his 
side  ;  many  of  the  people  were  secretly  for  Him ; 
nothing  could  De  proved  against  Him ;  and,  above 
all,  He  who  had  saved  others  could  save  Himself. 
Yet,  as  Peter  saw  scowling  faces,  his  courage  failed. 
A  servant-maid  looked  into  his  eye,  and  his  eye  fell. 
She  said  she  thought  he  belonged  to  Jesus  of 


64  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIBE. 

Nazareth ;  his  heart  sank,  and  he  said,  "  No." 
Then  another  looked  in  his  face,  and  repeated  the 
same  suspicion.  Now,  of  course,  he  was  more 
cowardly,  and  repeated  his  "  No."  A  third  looked 
upon  him,  and  insisted  that  he  belonged  to  the  ac- 
cused Prophet.  How  his  poor  heart  was  all  flut- 
tering ;  and,  to  make  it  plain  that  he  had  nothing 
to  do  with  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  he  began  to  curse 
and  swear. 

Is  it  within  the  same  breast  where  this  pale  and 
tremulous  heart  quaked,  that  we  see  glowing  a 
brave  heart  which  dreads  neither  the  power  of  the 
authorities,  nor  the  violence  of  the  populace ; 
which  faces  every  prejudice  and  every  vice  of 
Jerusalem,  every  bitter  Pharisee  and  every  street 
brawler,  as  if  they  were  no  more  than  straying  and 
troublesome  sheep  ?  Is  the  Peter  of  Pilate's  hall 
the  Peter  of  Pentecost,  with  the  same  natural 
powers,  the  same  natural  force  of  character,  the 
same  training,  and  the  same  resolutions  ?  If  so, 
what  a  difference  is  made  in  a  man  by  the  one  cir- 
cumstance of  being  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost ! 

O  for  high  examples  of  God's  moral  "  workman- 
ship !"  O  for  men  instinct  with  the  Spirit ;  the 
countenance  glowing  as  a  transparency  with  a  lamp 
behind  it ;  the  eye  shining  with  a  purer,  truer  light 
than  any  that  genius  or  good-nature  ever  shed ; 
limbs  agile  for  any  act  of  prayer,  of  praise,  of  zeal, 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING   THE  BAPTISM    OF   FIRE.        65 

for  any  errand  of  compassion ;  and  a  tongue  of 
fire !  O  for  men  on  whom  the  silent  verdict  of  the 
observer  would  be,  "  He  is  a  good  man,  and  full  of 
the  Holy  Ghost !"  Never,  perhaps,  did  earthly 
eyes  see  more  frequently  than  we  see  in  our  day, 
men  with  ordinary  Christian  excellences — men  in 
private  life  whose  walk  is  blameless — men  in  the 
ministry  who  are  admirable,  worthy,  and  useful, 
But  are  not  men  "  FULL  OF  THE  HOLT  GHOST"  a 
rare  and  minished  race?  Are  those  whose  entire 
spirit  bespeaks  a  walk  of  prayer,  such  as  we  would 
ascribe  to  Enoch  or  to  John ;  whose  words  fall 
with  a  demonstration  of  the  Spirit,  and  a  power 
such  as  we  conceive  attended  Paul  or  Apollos ;  who 
make  on  believers  the  impression  of  being  imme- 
diate and  mighty  instruments  of  God,  and  on  unbe- 
lievers the  impression  of  being  dangerous  to  come 
hear,  lest  they  should  convert  them ; — are  such  men 
often  met  with  ? 

Do  not  even  the  good  frequently  speak  as  if  we 
were  not  to  look  for  such  burning  and  shining 
lights  ?  as  if  we  must  be  content  in  our  educated 
and  intelligent  age  with  a  style  of  holiness  more 
level  and  less  startling  ?  Do  not  many  make  up 
their  minds  never  more  to  see  men  such  as  their 
fathers  saw ;  men  at  whose  prayer  a  wondrous 
power  of  God  was  ever  ready  to  fall,  whether  upon 

two  or  three  kneeling  in  a  cabin,  and  wondering 
o 


66  THE  TONGUE  OP  FIEE. 

how  the  unlearned  could  find  such  wisdom,  or 
on  the  great  multitude,  wondering  how  the  learned 
could  find  such  simplicity  ?  Never  more  see 
such  men !  The  Lord  forbid !  Return,  O  Power 
of  the  Pentecost,  return  to  Thy  people!  Shed 
down  Thy  flame  on  many  heads!  To  us,  as  to 
our  fathers,  and  to  those  of  the  old  time  before 
them,  give  fullness  of  grace!  Without  Thee  we 
can  do  nothing ;  but  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  the 
excellency  of  the  power  will  be  of  Thee,  O  God ! 
and  not  of  us. 


SHT 


CHAPTER  IV. 

CONTINUED. 
SECTION  II. — MRACULOUS  EFFECTS. 

"  THEY  began  to  speak  with  other  tongues,  as 
the  Spirit  gave  them  utterance."  It  is  not  said, 
"  with  unknown  tongues."  In  fact,  the  expression, 
"  unknown  tongues,"  was  never  used  by  an  inspired 
writer.  In  the  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  it  is 
found  in  the  English  version ;  but  the  word  "  un- 
known" is  in  italics,  showing  that  it  is  not  taken 
from  the  original.  Speaking  unknown  tongues 
was  never  heard  of  in  the  apostolic  days.  That 
miracle  first  occurred  in  London  some  years  ago. 
On  the  day  of  Pentecost  no  man  pretended  to 
speak  unknown  tongues ;  but  just  as  if  we  in  Lon- 
don suddenly  began  to  speak  German,  French, 
Spanish,  Russian,  Turkish,  and  other  foreign  lan- 
guages, so  it  was  with  them.  Not  one  tongue  was 
spoken  that  day  but  a  man  was  found  hi  the  streets 
of  Jerusalem  to  turn  round,  and  cry,  "  This  is  my 
own  tongue,  wherein  I  was  born!"  The  miracle 


68  THE   TONGUE   OP   FIRE. 

lay  in  the  power  of  speaking  the  tongues  of  adjacent 
nations,  from  which  individuals  were  in  Jerusalem 
at  that  very  time.  This  is  not  only  miraculous,  but 
a  miracle  in  a  very  amazing  form ;  perhaps,  as  to 
its  form,  the  most  amazing  of  all  miracles. 

Matter  is  a  great  and  pregnant  thing.  To  us  its 
properties  are  not  only  wonderful,  but  exceedingly 
mysterious.  When  we  see  it  flourishing  while  we 
fade,  towering  in  hills,  or  careering  in  waves,  or 
spread  out  in  the  firmament,  we  almost  feel  as  if  it 
were  greater  than  we.  Yet  are  we  ever  proving 
that,  in  spite  of  appearances,  matter  is  less  than 
mind.  Mind  searches  out  matter,  wields  it,  molds 
it,  makes  it  the  servant  of  its  will.  Mind,  then, 
being  the  superior,  it  follows  that  a  work  wrought 
in  mind  is  greater  than  one  wrought  in  matter. 
Miracles  in  seas,  mountains,  the  firmament,  or  the 
human  body,  display  a  power  which  rules  the  frame 
of  nature  and  the  frame  of  man.  Yet,  as  the  sphere 
of  these  is  matter,  the  whole  order  may  be  called 
the  PHYSICAL  MIRACLE — works  above  nature,  wrought 
upon  physical  agents  in  attestation  of  the  revelation 
of  God.  But  beyond  this  lies  a  higher  miracle,  of 
which  the  sphere  is  mind ;  and  which,  therefore,  we 
may  call  the  MENTAL  MIRACLE — works  above  nature 
wrought  in  mind  in  attestation  of  the  revelation  of 
God.  Of  this  order  two  forms  had  been  witnessed 
previously — inspiration  and  prophecy;  but  now  a 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING   THE   BAPTISM    OF  FIRE.        69 

new  miracle  in  mind  was  to  challenge  the  belief  of 
all  Jerusalem. 

This  miracle,  as  to  its  moral  impression,  differed 
totally  from  all  physical  miracles ;  even  from  that 
complex  and  most  peculiar  miracle,  the  raising  of 
the  dead,  wherein  we  see  a  power  which  matter  and 
spirit,  animal  life,  and  mental  illumination,  equally 
obey.  That  miracle  stands  alone;  yet  the  chief 
impression  which  it  makes,  and  certainly  the  im- 
pression which  all  purely  physical  miracles  make, 
is  that  of  power.  They  suggest,  also,  indeed,  the 
idea  of  wisdom,  else  the  power  would  not  go  so  un- 
erringly to  its  end ;  and  of  goodness,  else  power  so 
irresistible  would  move,  not  to  bless,  but  to  de- 
stroy ;  yet  the  leading  impression  produced  is  un- 
doubtedly that  of  power.  In  such  miracles  we 
recognize  chiefly  "the  high  hand,  and  the  stretched 
out  arm." 

ID.  inspiration,  we  see  the  mind  of  man  enabled 
to  sit  down  among  the  morning  mists  of  things,  and 
to  write  a  book  which  will  stand  while  the  world 
stands.  In  prophecy,  we  see  the  mind  enabled  to 
look  through  a  thousand  years,  and  describe  what 
lies  beyond  so  plainly,  that,  when  it  is  unfolded  to 
ordinary  sight,  it  shall  at  once  be  recognized.  Both 
these  miracles  bring  us,  not  so  much  into  the  pres- 
ence of  a  Ruler,  as  into  the  presence  of  a  Spirit. 

In  beholding  a  sea  dried,  or  a  wilderness  strewn 


70  THE  TONGUE    OF   FIRE. 

with  food,  we  feel  ourselves  near  the  Lord  of  nature 
and  the  Stay  of  life.  So  here  we  feel  ourselves 
near  the  Fount  of  all  mind,  whose  own  knowledge 
depends  neither  on  material  phenomena,  nor  on  the 
lapse  of  time ;  whose  mode  of  acting  on  the  human 
mind  is  not  by  laws  analogous  to  those  whereby  the 
latter  acts  on  material  organs,  or  on  its  kindred 
minds  through  them.  As,  however,  we  watch  the 
miracle  of  tongues,  a  strange  solemnity  falls  upon 
us;  we  feel  as  if  we  had  left  the  region  where  mind 
slowly  and  dimly  learns  through  sense,  had  crossed 
some  invisible  line  into  the  land  of  spirits,  and  were 
standing  before  the  Original  Mind.  What  knowl- 
edge of  mind  so  minute  as  that  which  scans  every 
sign  whereby  every  mind  expresses  its  ideas  ?  What 
power  over  mind  so  unsearchable  as  that  which  can 
fill  it  in  an  instant  with  new  signs  for  all  its  ideas — 
signs  never  before  present  to  it,  yet  answering  ex- 
actly to  those  which  others  had  been  trained  from 
childhood  to  use  ? 

A  number  of  Galilean  peasants  issue  from  an  upper 
room  into  the  streets  of  Jerusalem.  A  strange  fire 
is  in  every  eye,  a  strange  light  on  every  countenance. 
Each  one  looks  joyful  and  benignant,  as  if  he  felt 
that  he  was  carrying  the  balm  for  the  world's  sores 
hi  his  breast.  Each  has  plainly  a  world  to  say,  and 
wants  listeners.  Probably  their  steps  turn  toward 
the  temple,  which  during  the  ten  days  had  divided 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING  THE  BAPTISM   OF  FIRE.        71 

their  presence  with  the  upper  room.  One  meets 
with  an  Arab,  and  addresses  him ;  another  goes  up 
to  a  Roman,  and  in  a  moment  they  are  deeply  en- 
gaged ;  a  third  sees  a  Persian,  a  fourth  an  African 
from  Gyrene ;  and,  as  they  go  along,  each  one  at- 
taches himself  to  some  foreigner.  He  tells  a  strange 
tale,  strange  in  its  substance,  equally  strange  in  its 
eloquence;  a  new  and  unaccountable  eloquence, 
wonderful  not  for  grace,  expression,  or  sweet  sound, 
but  for  power. 

One  hearer  in  Lathi,  another  in  Coptic,  another 
hi  Persian,  another  in  Greek,  exclaims  first  at  the 
wonder  of  the  story,  and  then  at  the  wonder  of  the 
narrator :  "  Art  not  thou  a  Galilean  ?  whence  then 
hast  thou  this  fluency  in  Latin  ?"  He  answers  that 
he  has  received  it  to-day  by  gift  from  God.  A 
smile  curls  on  the  lip  of  the  Roman,  and  he  turns 
round  to  a  neighboring  group.  There  an  Egyptian 
has  just  been  putting  the  same  question,  and  re- 
ceived the  same  answer.  Yonder  is  an  excited  little 
knot,  where  a  Parthian  declares  that  the  tongue  in 
which  a  man  has  told  him  of  the  death,  resurrec- 
tion, and  ascension  of  Jesus,  is  his  mother  tongue. 
People  from  Jerusalem  are  mocking,  and  saying, 
"  The  men  are  full  of  new  wine ;"  but  the  strangers, 
on  speaking  one  to  another,  find  that  they  have  all 
been  hearing  precisely  the  same  things  in  their 
u  own  tongues," 


72  THE   TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

Those  faces  of  different  complexions,  on  compar- 
ing their  opinions,  darkle  with  awe.  They  find  that 
in  all  this  diversity  of  tongues  the  same  tidings  are 
repeated,  and  thus  see  the  unity  of  matter  in  the 
variety  of  language :  they  find  that  the  men  who 
speak  are  unschooled  peasants,  yet  are  all  gifted 
with  the  same  unheard-of  power ;  and  thus  see  in 
the  variety  of  speakers  the  unity  of  inspiration. 
The  tongues  are  the  tongues  of  all  mankind ;  but 
the  impulse  is  one,  and  the  message  one!  From 
what  center  do  all  these  languages  issue?  The 
same  instinct  which  leads  back  the  thought  from 
speech  to  a  mind,  leads  it  back  from  this  universal 
speech  till  it  stands  awe-struck  in  the  presence  of 
the  Central  Intellect  of  the  Spirit  which  "  formeth 
the  spirit  of  man  within  him,"  of  the  Supreme 
Mind,  to  which  all  mind  is  common  ground — of  the 
Father  of  Thought ! 

It  would  be  impossible  to  conceive  any  form  of 
credential  so  well  framed  to  certify,  that  a  doctrine 
was  the  immediate  issue  of  the  mind  of  God.  The 
bare  thought  of  such  a  miracle  as  that  of  tongues, 
had  it  only  been  a  thought,  would  have  made  in 
itself  an  era  in  the  history  of  man's  intellect ;  and 
it  may  be  fairly  questioned  whether  such  a  thought 
could  have  originated  in  any  thing  else  than  in  the 
fact.  The  leading  feature  of  the  new  religion  was 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING   THE   BAPTISM    OF   FIRE.         78 

to  be  a  Divine  teaching  upon  things  invisible  and 
spiritual — on  points  of  which  the  unaided  powers 
of  man  could  give  no  conclusive  solution.  For  such 
a  teaching  no  attestation  could  be  so  apposite  as  one 
that  accredited  it  as  a  message  from  the  Spirit  which 
"  searcheth  all  things."  The  universal  call  to  man 
was  worthily  issued  into  the  world  by  a  sign  which 
showed  that  it  came  directly  from  the  only  wise 
God,  who  gives  understanding,  and  holds  the  keys 
of  thought.  The  command  of  all  languages,  by  one 
consentaneous  impulse,  proclaimed  the  new  message 
to  be  the  WORD  OF  GOD. 

The  great  question  for  humanity  is,  Hath  God 
spoken  ?  Are  we  poor  wanderers  each  left  here  to 
his  own  light,  and  Heaven  looking  down  in  eternal 
silence  on  all  our  straying  and  perplexity?  Hath 
the  Parent  Spirit,  whence  these  spirits  of  ours  come, 
surrounded  them  with  His  infinite  presence  at  every 
step  of  their  stumbling  and  perilous  journey,  and 
never  once,  from  the  day  of  Adam  to  our  day,  sig- 
nified that  He  saw,  and  heard,  and  felt  ?  Has  He 
dealt  with  the  soul  of  man  as  with  "  the  spirit  of  a 
beast"  that  could  never  bless  Him,  and  never  break 
His  law  ?  Are  all  words  the  words  of  erring  man, 
and  all  lights  those  doubtful  and  deceptive  lights, 
following  which  so  many  have  miserably  perished  ? 
Is  all  doctrine  the  guesses  of  thinkers,  or  the 


74  THE  TONGUE   OF  FIRE. 

juggling  of  priests?  Has  God  never,  never 
spoken  ? 

"  GOD    SPAKE    ALL    THESE    WORDS,   AND     SAID  !" 

On  the  Pentecost  of  Israel,  from  out  of  the  fire  on 
Sinai,  came  "  a  mighty  voice,"  which,  sweeping 
down  from  the  distant  peak  as  if  from  a  throne  at 
hand,  filled  the  ears  of  three  millions  of  people,  or 
more,  as  if  they  had  been  a  little  group.  Ten 
times  THE  VOICE  sounded  mysteriously  over  all  that 
awed  and  quivering  host,  till  human  nature,  smitten 
to  the  core,  cried  out,  "  We  die,  we  die."  The 
VOICE  had  uttered  only  gentle  and  wholesome  laws, 
laws  binding  man  to  God,  and  man  to  man,  laying 
sure  paths  to  peace  and  blessedness ;  but  human 
nature  was  already  guilty  under  these  laws,  and  the 
VOICE  awoke  only  the  response,  "Let  not  God 
speak  with  us,  lest  we  die."* 

Thus,  in  the  old  time,  a  whole  nation  could  be 
appealed  to,  that  all  words  were  not  uncertain,  nor 
all  questions  open :  "  Ye  came  near  and  stood 
under  the  mountain :  and  the  mountain  burned 
with  fire  unto  the  midst  of  heaven,  with  darkness, 
clouds,  and  thick  darkness.  And  the  Lord  spake 
unto  you  out  of  the  midst  of  the  fire :  ye  heard 
the  voice  of  the  words,  but  saw  no  similitude ; 
only  ye  heard  a  voice.  And  He  declared  unto  you 
His  covenant  which  He  commanded  you  to  perform, 
*  Exod.  xx.  19. 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING  THE  BAPTISM    OF   FIRE.        75 

even   ten   commandments;    and   He  wrote  them 
upon  two  tables  of  stone." 

As  in  the  Pentecost  of  Israel,  so  in  the  Pentecost 
of  Christianity,  the  Lord  once  more  speaks  "  out  of 
the  midst  of  the  fire."  Now,  however,  the  accom- 
panying tokens  are  not  physical,  but  mental ;  em- 
ploying many  human  minds  and  human  tongues  as 
His  instruments,  yet  manifesting  the  unity  of  that 
impulse  whereby  they  are  all  moved,  He  makes  not 
merely  the  people  of  one  nation,  but  the  represent- 
atives of  all  nations,  feel  that  GOD  HATH  SPOKEN. 
Yes,  tell  it  wherever  there  are  ears  to  hear,  tell  it 
to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  God  hath  spoken ;  man 
has  not  been  forgotten ;  guesses  are  not  all  our 
light ;  there  is  a  Gospel,  a  "  speech  of  God ;"  ques- 
tions affecting  salvation  are  settled ;  and  our  way 
to  holy  living  and  happy  dying  traced  by  the  Hand 
which  rules  both  worlds. 

With  regard  to  the  gift  of  tongues,  some  curious 
questions  have  been  raised,  especially  by  the 
learned.  One  is  as  to  whether  the  miracle  was 
really  in  the  speaker,  and  not  in  the  hearer ;  so 
that  although  all  that  was  spoken  was  in  one  lan- 
guage, the  ordinary  language  of  the  disciples,  yet 
the  hearers  of  different  nations  each  heard  in  his 
own  tongue.  For  this  opinion,  as  for  all  opinions, 
it  is  possible  to  cite  some  considerable  names.  But 


76  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

had  it  been  as  here  supposed,  the  symbol  of  the 
miracle  would  not  have  been  cloven  tongues,  but 
manifold  ears.  The  double  declaration  of  the  nar- 
rative perfectly  corresponds  with  the  symbol.  As 
regards  the  speakers,  it  says  that  they  "  spake  with 
other  tongues ;"  as  regards  the  hearers,  that  they 
"  heard  every  man  in  his  own  tongue." 

When  St.  Paul  finds  fault  with  the  use  of  the 
gift  of  tongues  in  Corinth,  he  does  not  blame  the 
hearers  for  lacking  an  ear  that  would  interpret  their 
own  tongue  into  foreign  ones  but  blames  the  speak- 
ers for  speaking  "  with  the  tongue  words  not  easy 
to  be  understood"  by  the  unlearned ;  and  the  only 
reason  he  ever  assigns  why  the  auditors  could  not 
understand  is,  that  they  were  unlearned ;  clearly 
showing  that  a  foreign  language  was  employed, 
which  educattion  might  have  enabled  them  to 
understand,  but  for  the  understanding  of  which 
miraculous  power  does  not  seem  ever  to  have  been 
given.  If  the  supposition  of  the  miracle  in  hearing, 
instead  of  in  speech,  has  been  resorted  to  with  a 
view  to  simplify  the  miracle,  it  defeats  its  own  ob- 
ject; for,  to  sustain  that  supposition,  the  miraculous 
influence  must  have  been  exerted  on  a  number  of 
persons,  as  much  greater  than  in  the  other  case,  as 
the  hearers  were  more  numerous  than  the  speakers. 
At  the  same  time,  the  nature  of  the  miraculous  opera- 
tion would  be  in  every  respect  equally  extraordinary. 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING  THE  BAPTISM    OF   FIRE.        77 

Another  question  is  as  to  whether  the  speakers 
understood  what  they  said  in  the  foreign  languages 
The  doubt  as  to  this  is  not  raised  upon  the  narrative 
of  the  Pentecost,  but  on  certain  expressions  used 
by  St.  Paul  in  writing  to  the  Corinthians.  There 
he  says,  "  Let  him  that  speaketh  in  an  unknown 
tongue  pray  that  he  may  interpret;"  and  again, 
"  If  one  speak  in  an  unknown  tongue,  let  one  inter 
pret."  Hence  it  would  appear  that  some  could 
speak  with  tongues,  who  could  not  render  into  their 
own  language  that  which  they  had  spoken.  This, 
however,  is  not  clear ;  for  he  also  says,  "  Greater  is 
he  that  prophesieth  than  he  that  speaketh  with 
tongues,  except  he  interpret,  that  the  Church  may 
receive  edification."  Here  he  supposes,  that  the 
person  who  possesses  the  gift  of  tongues,  does  also 
possess  the  power  of  interpreting  into  the  common 
language,  that  which  he  has  uttered  in  a  miraculous 
way. 

But,  even  granting  that  some  were  unable  to 
interpret,  so  as  to  edify  the  Church,  that  which 
they  had  themselves  spoken,  it  would  appear  that 
this  did  not  at  all  arise  from  their  not  understand- 
ing what  they  had  said,  but  from  their  being  desti- 
tute of  the  gift  of  prophecy,  whereby  only  they 
could  edify  believers.  As  to  any  doubt  whether 
the  person  speaking  really  understood  his  own  ut- 
terances, it  is  completely  removed  by  the  text,  1 


78  THE  TONGUE   OF  FIRE. 

Cor.  xiv.  14-19:  "For  if  I  pray  in  an  unknown 
tongue,  my  spirit  prayeth,  but  my  understanding  is 
unfruitful.  What  is  it  then  ?  I  will  pray  with  the 
spirit,  and  I  will  pray  with  the  understanding  also : 
I  will  sing  with  the  spirit,  and  I  will  sing  with  the 
understanding  also.  Else  when  thou  shall  bless 
with  the  spirit,  how  shall  he  that  oecupieth  the 
room  of  the  unlearned  say  Amen  at  thy  giving  of 
thanks,  seeing  he  understandeth  not  what  thou  say- 
est  ?  For  thou  verily  givest  thanks  well,  but  the 
other  is  not  edified.  I  thank  my  God,  I  speak 
with  tongues  more  than  ye  all :  yet  in  the  Church 
I  had  rather  speak  five  words  with  my  understand- 
ing, that  by  my  voice  I  might  teach  others  also, 
than  ten  thousand  words  in  an  unknown  tongue." 
Here,  publicly  praising  "  with  the  understanding" 
is  taken  to  be,  so  praising  that  a  common  man  may 
understand  ;  and  publicly  preaching  "  with  the 
understanding"  is  taken  to  be,  so  to  speak  as  to 
"  teach  others  also."  To  praise  and  to  preach  in 
public  without  these,  is  to  act  without  understand 
ing.  The  words,  "  He  understandeth  not  what 
thou  sayest,"  though  "thou  verily  givest  thanks 
well,"  settle  the  whole  matter.  They  take  it  for 
granted — as,  indeed,  the  Apostle  does  all  through 
— that  the  speaker  clearly  understands  himself; 
but  the  fault  is,  that  he  uses  speech  which  was 
never  given -for  the  sake  of  intercourse  with  God, 


EFFECTS  FOLLOWING  THE  BAPTISM   OF  FIRE.        79 

but  for  that  of  intercourse  with  man,  in  a  way  that 
defeats  its  own  object.  Speech  is  man's  revelation 
of  his  own  spirit  to  his  fellow  man ;  and  when  noth- 
ing is  revealed,  it  becomes  a  mockery.  Feelings 
and  thoughts  are  the  language  which  God  listens 
to ;  man  hearkens  in  the  air,  God  in  the  soul  within. 
To  speak  to  Him  we  need  no  sounds ;  sounds  are 
for  human  ears,  and  useful  only  when  the  ear  can 
recognize  the  meaning.  The  fact  that  some  who 
could  not  prophesy  could  yet  speak  with  tongues, 
is  apparent  in  several  parts  of  Scripture,  and  is  a 
singular  proof  at  once  of  the  generality  and  the 
diversity  of  gifts.  The  lower  gift,  that  of  tongues, 
was  more  generally  diffused  than  the  higher,  that 
of  prophecy. 

The  miracle  indicated  not  only  the  origin  of  the 
new  doctrine,  but  also  its  SPHERE.  It  was  a  mes- 
sage from  the  Father  of  men  to  all  men.  National 
diversities,  instead  of  being  a  barrier  before  which 
it  stood  still,  were  opportunities  to  display  its  uni- 
versal adaptation.  Each  various  tongue  was  made 
an  additional  witness  that  it  had  come  for  "  every 
people  under  heaven."  Our  Lord's  last  words,  "the 
uttermost  parts  of  the  earth,"  had  here  a  strange  and 
multiplying  echo.  A  force  was  set  in  motion,  which 
claimed  all  humanity  as  its  field ;  a  voice  was  lifted 
up,  which  called  upon  every  nation  to  join  its  audience. 


80  THE   TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

Again,  this  manifestation  met  and  answered  all 
doubts  which  might  have  arisen  as  to  the  power  of 
our  Lord  to  gift  His  servants  with  language  and 
utterance  needful  for  their  coming  contest  with  the 
whole  world.  He  had  told  them  that,  when  brought 
before  rulers  and  kings  for  His  name's  sake,  it  would 
be  given  to  them  what  they  should  say :  "  For  it  is 
not  ye  that  speak,  but  the  Spirit  of  your  Father 
which  speaketh  in  you."*  He  had  evidently  referred 
to  such  Divine  aid  in  speech,  when  He  told  them 
that  they  should  receive  power  after  that  the  Holy 
Ghost  was  come  upon  them,  and  that  they  should 
be  Sis  witnesses,  even  "  to  the  uttermost  parts  of 
the  earth."  Moses  had  feared  to  plead  before 
Pharaoh,  from  a  dread  that  utterance  equal  to  the 
gravity  of  the  mission  could  not  be  given  to  him. 
Jeremiah  had  feared  on  a  similar  ground. 

Nothing  is  more  natural  than  that  one  who  feels 
himself  charged  with  a  sublime  truth,  on  the  proper 
delivery  of  which  infinite  interests  depend,  should 
distrust  his  ability  to  frame  suitable  language.  It  is 
very  probable  that  such  thoughts  had  troubled  the 
disciples  in  the  contemplation  of  the  great  work 
which  lay  before  them.  If  so,  what  an  answer  did 
they  receive  in  the  miracle  of  tongues !  He  who 
enabled  their  lips  to  pour  forth  the  testimony  in 
words  they  had  never  spoken,  and  never  heard, 
*  Matt.  x.  20. 


EFFECTS  FOLLOWING  THE  BAPTISM    OF   FIRE.        81 

could  surely  give  them  every  measure  of  propriety, 
of  clearness,  of  copiousness,  of  power,  whereof 
human  speech  was  capable.  All  questions  as  to  how 
copious  diction  could  be  imparted  to  the  unready, 
and  force  to  the  feeble,  how  the  slow  could  be  made 
impressive,  and  the  tame  eloquent,  were  here  an- 
swered. The  old  promise,  "I  will  be  with  thy 
mouth,"  received  an  unlooked-for  commentary.  The 
effects  which  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  could  produce 
upon  the  human  tongue,  were  shown  to  be  illimita- 
ble by  any  natural  impediment.  The  ground  of 
confidence  as  to  their  success  in  preaching  was  con- 
spicuously changed  from  talent,  learning,  office,  or 
credentials,  to  the  working  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Their  power  ceased  to  be  a  question  of  natural 
ability,  and  became  one  of  divine  gift.  The  meas- 
ure of  the  former  might  be  greater  or  less,  without 
materially  affecting  the  fruit  of  their  work;  but 
this  would  exactly  correspond  with  the  degree  of 
the  latter. 

Andrew  had  heard  the  Baptist  preach,  had  seen 
how  his  words  plowed  up  the  rude  feelings  of  the 
soldier,  and  at  the  same  time  commanded  the  subtle 
conscience  of  the  scribe.  He  had  heard  the  Lord 
Himself,  when  every  word  struck  the  ear  as  a  won- 
der. Probably  he  had  always  thought  it  impossible 
that  such  sword-edged  sentences  should  ever  come 
from  his  lips,  or  from  those  of  "  his  own  brother 


82  THE   TONGUE   OF   FIKE. 

Simon."  He  might  conceive  that  he  should  be  able 
to  repeat  the  substance  of  the  lessons  which  the 
Lord  had  taught  them,  and  that,  when  he  stood  be- 
fore counselors  and  magistrates,  he  should  be  enar 
bled  to  assign  a  reason  for  his  hope.  Perhaps  he 
would  think  it  possible  that,  when  filled  with  that 
new  Comforter,  who  had  been  so  often  promised  to 
them,  he  could  address  a  multitude  with  feeling. 
But,  as  to  words  like  fire,  melting  and  burning  the 
spirits  of  men — words  like  hammers,  breaking  in 
pieces  the  hearts  of  stone — words  that  should  rush 
on  the  congregation  with  a  force  too  overwhelming 
to  be  called  eloquence — should  win  a  conquest  too 
rapid  and  too  complete  to  be  called  persuasion — 
should  make  the  speaker  not  only  a  prodigy,  but  a 
power — his  hearers  not  only  an  orator's  audience, 
but  a  Master's  disciples — as  to  such  words  as  these, 
how  was  it  possible  that  they  should  ever  proceed 
from  him,  or  Simon  ?  So  might  he  naturally  reason ; 
but  when  he  finds  himself  fluently  telling  a  man 
from  the  shores  of  Gyrene  the  whole  story  of  the 
birth,  and  death,  and  resurrection,  and  ascension,  in 
a  tongue  which  he  had  never  heard  before ;  when 
the  African  assures  him  that  it  was  the  tongue  of 
his  native  town,  then,  had  you  asked  him,  "  Is  it 
now  impossible  that  you  or  Simon  should  speak  with 
a  voice  mightier  than  the  voice  of  a  prophet,  or  that 
the  least  of  your  company  should  be  greater  than 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING  THE  BAPTISM   OF   FIKE.        83 

the  thunder-tongued  Baptist?"  he  had  answered, 
"  With  God  nothing  is  impossible." 

"  And  it  sat  upon  each  of  them.  And  they  were 
all  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  began  to  speak 
with  other  tongues,  as  the  Spirit  gave  them  utter- 
ance." The  tongue  of  fire  rested  upon  each  disci- 
ple, and  all  spoke  with  a  superhuman  utterance. 
Not  the  Twelve  only,  the  Lord's  chosen  Apostles ; 
not  the  Seventy  only,  His  commissioned  Evange- 
lists ;  but  also  the  ordinary  believers,  and  even  the 
women.  The  baptism  of  the  Spirit  fell  upon  all, 
and  spiritual  gifts  were  imparted  to  all — not  equally; 
for  the  expression,  "  As  the  Spirit  gave  them  utter- 
ance," seems  to  indicate  a  diversity  of  gifts,  which 
accords  with  other  passages  in  the  New  Testament. 
It  is  not  probable  that  each  one  could  speak  every 
language;  for  St.  Paul  says  of  himself,  that  he 
"  spake  with  tongues  more  than  they  all,"  clearly 
implying  a  limit  in  that  gift,  and  a  different  limit  in 
different  persons.  And  it  is  certain  that  all  had  not 
the  gift  of  "prophesying"  suited  to  address  such 
congregations  as  that  soon  about  to  meet,  or  even 
publicly  to  teach  in  ordinary  assemblies.  As  in  His 
later  operations,  so  now,  the  blessed  Spirit  would 
doubtless  show  "  diversities  of  operations,"  giving  to 
"  one  the  word  of  wisdom,  to  another  the  word  of 
knowledge,  to  another  prophecy,"  etc.  But  the 


84  THE   TONGUE   OF  FIRE. 

cloven  tongues  sat  upon  each  of  them,  and,  by  the 
joint  effect  of  spiritual  life  imparted  and  of  spirit- 
ual gifts  bestowed,  all  were  instantly  set  upon  spir- 
itual services ;  all  led  to  become  active  witnesses  for 
Christ  and  for  His  cross. 

The  fire  did  not  fall  on  the  Twelve  to  be  by  them 
communicated  to  the  Seventy,  and  by  them  again 
to  the  ordinary  flock.  It  came  as  directly  on  the 
head  of  the  disciple  whose  name  we  never  heard, 
as  on  that  of  the  beloved  and  honored  John.  It 
did  not  confound  John  the  Apostle  in  the  promis- 
cuous mass,  or  place  his  office  at  the  disposal  of  the 
multitude ;  but  confirmed  it,  and  fitted  him  by  new 
gifts  to  adorn  and  make  full  proof  of  his  ministry. 
But  it  did  not,  on  the  other  hand,  leave  the  ordinary 
believers  as  mere  spectators  to  see  the  spiritual  work 
of  the  Lord  committed  wholly  to  the  selected  minis- 
try ;  their  part  being  passively  to  receive  spiritual 
influences  and  illumination  from  those  who  had  direct 
access  to  Him  with  whom  is  the  supply  of  the  Spirit. 

This  original  blessing  meets  beforehand  the  error, 
which  was  likely  to  spring  up,  from  looking  on  the 
true  religion  in  the  light  in  which  all  false  ones  are 
ever  regarded — as  a  mystery  to  be  confined  to  an 
initiated  few,  on  whose  offices  the  multitude  must 
depend  for  acceptance  with  the  invisible  Power. 
Here  was  a  religion  that  did  single  out  and  lift  up 
some  above  their  fellows,  investing  them  with  a  high 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING   THE   BAPTISM    OF   FIRE.        85 

and  solemn  ministry;   but  from  their  ministry  it 
swept  away  all  seeming  priesthood. 

The  usual  idea  of  priesthood  is  that  of  a  power 
standing  between  man  and  God,  through  which 
alone  we  may  draw  near,  and  find  mercy  at  His 
hands.  But  so  far  from  any  such  characteristic  be- 
longing to  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel,  it  is  distin- 
guished as  being  an  office,  the  special  labor  of  which 
is  to  point  each  man  direct  to  God,  and  to  assure 
him  that  between  him  and  the  throne  of  grace  there 
is  no  power,  visible  or  invisible,  and  no  mediator 
but  that  One  to  whom  alike  Apostle,  Evangelist, 
and  the  humblest  penitent  must  look.  True,  all 
were  not  Apostles,  ah1  were  not  Evangelists,  all 
were  not  Prophets ;  but,  in  the  only  sense  in  which 
any  were  Priests,  ah1  were  Priests.  The  one  altar 
of  the  Cross,  the  one  sacrifice  of  the  Lamb,  the  one 
High  Priest  within  the  vail,  were  alone  to  be  named 
in  any  light  of  peace-making  with  God.  To  all,  the 
privilege  of  offering  up  the  sacrifices  of  praise  and 
of  prayer,  of  living  bodies  and  of  worldly  goods, 
was  equally  open.  No  man  was  made  a  depository 
or  store-house  wherein  spiritual  favors  should  be 
laid  up  for  the  use  of  those  who  might  purchase  or 
implore  them  at  his  hands.  He  was  most  honored 
who  could  most  successfully  turn  the  trust  of  men 
away  from  ah1  other  advocates,  and  fix  it  upon  the 
Son  of  God  alone. 


80  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

"  They  all  began  to  speak."  This  shows  that  the 
testimony  of  Christ  was  not  borne  by  the  Ministry 
alone ;  that  this  chief  work  of  the  Church  was  not 
confined  to  official  hands.  The  multitude  of  be- 
lievers were  not  mere  adherents,  but  living,  speak- 
ing, burning  agents  in  the  great  movements  for  the 
universal  diffusion  of  God's  message.  Many  feel  as 
if  religion,  on  the  part  of  the  Ministry,  was  to  be  a 
matter  of  bold  and  public  testimony ;  but  on  that 
of  ordinary  Christians,  a  heart-secret  between  them- 
selves and  God.  Let  such  sit  down  in  sight  of  that 
first  Christian  scene ;  let  them  behold  every  counte- 
nance lighted  up  with  the  common  joy,  and  hear 
every  tongue  speak  under  the  common  impulse, 
and  then  ask  Bartimeus,  or  Mary,  if  the  private 
disciple  has  not  just  as  much  cause  to  be  a  witness 
that  Jesus  lives,  and  that  Jesus  saves,  as  either 
James  or  John  ?  Let  them  ask  if  it  is  like  their 
religion  that  one  lonely  Minister  shall,  on  the  Lord's 
day,  bear  witness  before  a  thousand  Christians,  who 
decorously  hear  his  testimony  as  worthy  of  accept- 
ance by  all,  and  then  go  away,  and  never  repeat  the 
strain  in  any  human  ear  ? 

Looking  on  the  universal  movement  of  that  Pente- 
costal day,  who  could  think  that  the  new  religion 
was  ever  to  come  down  to  this  ?  that  speaking  of 
its  joys,  its  hopes,  its  pardon,  its  mercy  for  the  wide 
world,  was  to  be  considered  a  professional  work,  for 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING  THE   BAPTISM    OF   FIRE.         87 

set  solemnities  alone,  and  not  to  be  a  daily  joy 
and  heart's-ease,  to  ever-growing  multitudes  of 
happy,  simple  men  ?  Cheerless  is  the  work  of  that 
Christian  Minister,  who,  at  set  times,  raises  his 
testimony  in  the  ears  of  a  people,  all  of  whom 
make  a  practice  of  hiding  it  in  their  hearts  ! 
Blessed  in  his  office  is  he  who  knows  that,  while 
he  in  his  own  sphere  proclaims  the  glad  tidings, 
hundreds  around  him  are  ready,  each  one  in  his 
sphere,  to  make  them  their  boast  and  their  song ! 
Spiritual  office  and  spiritual  gifts  vary  greatly  in  de- 
gree, honor,  and  authority,  and  he  who  has  the  less 
ought  to  reverence  him  who  has  the  greater,  re- 
membering who  it  is  that  dispenses  them  ;  but 
the  greater  should  never  attempt  to  extinguish 
the  less,  and  to  reduce  the  exercise  of  spiritual 
gifts  within  the  limits  of  the  public  and  ordained 
Ministry.  To  do  so  is  to  depart  from  primitive 
Christianity. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

CONTINUED. 
SECTION  HI. — MINISTEBIAL  EFFECTS. 

IN  immediate  connection  with  the  gift  of  tongues, 
was  a  gift  less  startling  as  a  phenomenon,  but  more 
influential  as  an  instrument  for  the  recovery  of 
mankind.  Peter  was  soon  called  upon  publicly  to 
deliver  the  Lord's  great  message.  Then,  undoubt- 
edly, he  spoke  not  in  any  foreign  tongue,  but 
in  his  native  dialect.  He  had  often  spoken  before, 
yet  nothing  remarkable  is  recorded  of  his  preach- 
ing, or  its  effects.  He  is  now  the  same  man, 
with  the  same  natural  intellect,  and  the  same 
natural  powers  of  speech ;  and  yet  a  new  utterance 
is  given  to  him,  the  effects  of  which  are  instantly 
apparent. 

Never  was  such  an  audience  assembled  as  that 
before  which  this  poor  fisherman  appeared :  Jews, 
with  all  the  prejudices  of  their  race — inhabitants  of 
Jerusalem,  with  the  recollection  of  the  part  they 
had  recently  taken  in  the  crucifixion  of  Jesus  of 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING  THE  BAPTISM    OF   FIRE.        89 

Nazareth,  met  in  the  city  of  their  solemnities,  jeal- 
ous for  the  honor  of  their  temple  and  law :  men  of 
different  nations,  rapidly  and  earnestly  speaking  in 
their  different  tongues ;  one  in  Hebrew,  mocking 
and  saying,  "  These  men  are  full  of  new  wine ;" 
another  inquiring  in  Latin;  another  disputing  in 
Greek ;  another  wondering  in  Arabic ;  and  an  end- 
less Babel  beside  expressing  every  variety  of  sur- 
prise, doubt,  and  curiosity.  Amid  such  a  scene  the 
fisherman  stands  up;  his  voice  strikes  across  the 
hum  which  prevails  all  down  the  street.  He  has 
no  tongue  of  silver ;  for  they  say,  "  He  is  an  un- 
learned and  ignorant  man."  The  rudeness  of  his 
Galilean  speech  still  remains  with  him ;  yet,  though 
"unlearned  and  ignorant"  in  their  sense — as  to 
polite  learning — in  a  higher  sense  he  was  a  scribe 
well  instructed.  As  respected  the  word  of  God, 
he  had  been  for  three  years  under  the  constant 
tuition  of  the  Prophet  of  Nazareth,  hearing  from 
His  lips  instruction  in  the  law,  in  the  Prophets, 
and  in  all  the  "  deep  things  of  God."  On  what- 
ever other  points,  therefore,  the  learned  of  Jerusa- 
lem might  have  found  Peter  at  fault,  in  the  sacred 
writings  he  was  more  thoroughly  furnished  than 
they ;  for  though  Christ  took  His  Apostles  from 
among  the  poor,  He  left  us  no  example  for  those 
who  have  not  well  learned  the  Bible,  to  attempt  to 
teach  it. 


90  THE  TONGUE    OF   FIRE. 

Yet  Peter  had  no  tongue  of  silver,  no  tongue  of 
honey,  no  soothing,  flattering  speech,  to  allay  the 
prejudices  and  to  captivate  the  passions  of  the  mul- 
titude. Nor  had  he  a  tongue  of  thunder  ;  no  out- 
bursts of  native  eloquence  distinguished  his  dis- 
course. Indeed,  some,  if  they  had  heard  that  dis- 
course from  ordinary  lips,  would  not  have  hesitated 
to  pronounce  it  dry — some  of  a  class,  too  numerous, 
who  do  not  like  preachers  who  put  them  to  the 
trouble  of  thinking,  but  enjoy  only  those  who  regale 
their  fancy,  or  move  their  feelings,  without  requir- 
ing any  labor  of  thought.  Peter's  sermon  is  no 
more  than  quoting  passages  from  the  word  of  God, 
and  reasoning  upon  them  ;  yet,  as  in  this  strain  he 
proceeds,  the  tongue  of  fire  by  degrees  burns  its 
way  to  the  feelings  of  the  multitude.  The  murmur 
gradually  subsides ;  the  mob  becomes  a  congrega- 
tion ;  the  voice  of  the  fisherman  sweeps  from  end 
to  end  of  that  multitude,  unbroken  by  a  single 
sound ;  and,  as  the  words  rush  on,  they  act  like  a 
stream  of  fire.  Now,  one  coating  of  prejudice 
which  covered  the  feelings  is  burned,  and  starts 
aside :  now,  another  and  another :  now,  the  fire 
touches  the  inmost  covering  of  prejudice,  which 
lay  close  upon  the  heart,  and  it  too  starts  aside. 
Now,  it  touches  the  quick,  and  burns  the  very  soul 
of  the  man !  Presently,  you  might  think  that  in 
that  throng  there  was  but  one  mind,  that  of  the 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING  THE  BAPTISM    OF   FIRE.         91 

Preacher,  which  had  multiplied  itself,  had  possessed 
itself  of  thousands  of  hearts,  and  thousands  of 
frames,  and  was  pouring  its  own  thoughts  through 
them  all.  At  length,  shame,  and  tears,  and  sobs 
overspread  that  whole  assembly.  Here,  a  head 
bows;  there,  starts  a  groan;  yonder,  rises  a  deep 
sigh ;  here,  tears  are  falling ;  and  some  stern  old 
Jew,  who  will  neither  bow  nor  weep,  trembles  with 
the  effort  to  keep  himself  still.  At  length,  from 
the  depth  of  the  crowd,  the  voice  of  the  preacher 
is  crossed  by  a  cry,  as  if  one  was  "  mourning  for  his 
only  son ;"  and  it  is  answered  by  a  cry,  as  if  one 
was  in  "  bitterness  for  his  first-born."  At  this  cry 
the  whole  multitude  is  carried  away,  and  forgetful 
of  every  thing  but  the  overwhelming  feeling  of  the 
moment,  they  exclaim,  "  Men  and  brethren,  what 
must  we  do  ?" 

No  part  of  the  proceedings  of  the  day  strikes  us 
with  a  deeper  or  more  lasting  impression  than  the 
amazing  change  in  Peter,  which  is  here  manifest. 
We  are  continually  prone  to  consider  the  power  of 
a  Minister  as  a  natural  power,  simply  intellectual. 
Here  was  a  man  who,  in  all  probability,  had  passed 
the  period  of  life  when  eloquence  is  most  forcible, 
without  having  distinguished  himself  by  any  such 
power.  He  comes  forward  with  a  most  unwelcome 
message,  to  address  an  unfavorable  audience,  him- 
self unskilled  in  the  arts  of  oratory ;  and  yet,  such 


92  THE  TONGUE   OP   FIRE. 

is  the  power  of  utterance  given  to  him,  that  he 
produces  an  effect,  the  like  of  which  had  never 
been  known  before  in  the  history  of  mankind. 
ISTever  has  it  been  recorded  in  any  other  instance, 
that  three  thousand  men  were  in  an  hour  persuaded 
by  one  of  their  own  nation,  of  obscure  origin  and 
uninfluential  position,  to  forego  the  prejudices  of 
their  youth,  the  favor  of  their  people,  and  the 
religion  of  their  fathers.  "  I  will  be  with  thy 
mouth,"  is  more  strikingly  fulfilled  here,  in  those 
extraordinary  effects  of  the  speaking  of  an  ordinary 
man,  than  in  any  other  form  in  which  the  power  of 
God  could  be  displayed,  through  the  instrument- 
ality of  a  human  tongue.  There  is  no  part  of  the 
whole  series  of  events  which  has  a  more  direct 
bearing  upon  the  permanent-work  of  the  Christian 
Church. 

This  is  the  first  example  of  prophesying  in  the 
New  Testament  sense ;  not  the  limited  sense  of 
foretelling,  but  the  more  comprehensive  sense  of 
delivering  a  message  from  God,  under  the  impulse 
of  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  by  His  aid.  In  this  the 
speaker  has  the  double  advantage  of  ascertained 
truth  to  declare — truth  which  his  own  understand- 
ing has  received,  which  he  can  enforce  by  citing 
the  word  of  God — and  of  aid  direct  from  the  Spirit 
in  uttering  it.  This  gift  is  conspicuously  placed  by 
St.  Paul  above  that  of  tongues :  "  Greater  is  he 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING  THE  BAPTISM    OF   FIRE.        93 

tliat  prophesieth  than  he  that  speaketh  with 
tongues."  The  gift  of  tongues  was  "for  a  sign 
to  them  that  believe  not ;"  and  even  to  them  only 
under  certain  circumstances,  when  they  were  ad- 
dressed in  a  tongue  which  they  understood,  and 
that  by  one  of  whom  they  had  proof,  or  what 
amounted  to  strong  probability,  that  he  had  not 
learned  it  in  a  natural  mode.  For  the  union  of 
these  two  requisites  nothing  was  so  favorable  as  the 
meeting  of  a  number  of  foreigners  in  one  city,  and 
hearing  natives  of  the  country  speak  all  their  dif- 
ferent languages.  A  foreigner  appearing  in  a  city, 
and  professing  to  speak  its  language  by  miracle, 
would  lie  under  the  suspicion  of  having  learned  it 
before  he  came ;  and  persons  speaking  foreign 
tongues  in  the  presence  of  their  own  unlearned 
countrymen,  would  seem  to  utter  gibberish.  This 
Paul  puts  strongly  to  the  Corinthians :  "  If  the 
whole  Church  be  come  together  into  one  place,  and 
all  speak  with  tongues,  and  there  come  in  those 
that  are  unlearned,  or  unbelievers,  will  they  not  say 
that  ye  are  mad  ?" 

If  a  number  of  persons  in  Corinth  had  a  gift  in 
Hebrew,  or  in  Latin,  and  their  fellow-townsmen, 
who  knew  only  Greek,  came  and  heard  a  rush  of 
unmeaning  sounds,  and  were  told  that  it  was  a 
miracle,  it  might  be,  but  it  was  no  miracle  to  them. 
If  they  saw  an  African  peasant  speaking  fluently  in 


94  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

Greek,  then,  indeed,  they  would  be  startled ;  and 
if  once  assured  by  any  means  that  he  had  not 
learned  it,  they  would  recognize  a  miracle. 

But  the  effect  of  persons  resident  in  a  place  using 
the  gift  of  tongues  could  only  be  to  satisfy  the 
learned  of  a  miracle.  For  the  unlearned  it  would 
be  simply  bewildering.  Suppose  that,  in  the  city 
of  Oxford,  the  stonemasons,  joiners,  and  shoe- 
makers heard  a  few  of  their  own  number  utter- 
ing something  in  Latin,  they  would  only  be  im- 
pressed with  a  belief  that  they  had  gone  mad,  01 
were  amusing  themselves  with  gibberish.  But  did 
the  learned  men  of  the  University  find  these 
groups  discoursing  on  the  doctrines  of  the  Gospel 
in  the  language  of  ancient  Rome,  which  it  had  been 
the  study  and  the  labor  of  their  lives  to  acquire 
perfectly,  they  would  be  overwhelmed  with  a  sense 
of  the  prodigy.  All  through  the  fourteenth  chap- 
ter of  the  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  St.  Paul 
admits  that  upon  the  learned  the  gift  of  tongues 
would  make  an  impression  ;  but  that  the  unlearned, 
if  believers,  would  be  unedified,  and,  if  unbelievers, 
would  be  led  to  mock. 

To  the  higher  gift  of  prophecy  he  assigns  two 
offices  which  that  of  tongues  could  never  fulfill. 
One  is  the  edifying  of  believers  ;  and  on  this  score 
lie  much  urges  the  Corinthians  to  seek  for  that 
gift.  The  other  is  its  effect  upon  the  unlearned 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING  THE   BAPTISM   OF  FIRE.        95 

unbeliever.  "  If  all  prophesy,  and  there  come  in 
one  that  believeth  not,  or  one  unlearned,  he  is  con- 
vinced of  all,  he  is  judged  of  all :  and  thus  are  the 
secrets  of  his  heart  made  manifest ;  and  so  falling 
down  on  his  face  he  will  worship  God,  and  report 
that  God  is  in  you  of  a  truth."  Here  is  a  man  who 
knows  no  language  but  one,  and  who  has  no  faith 
in  the  Divine  mission  of  the  Christians ;  yet  he  en- 
ters an  assembly  where  men  are  speaking  in  his 
own  tongue :  that  tongue,  as  to  its  words,  is  familiar 
to  him  from  his  childhood ;  but  its  words  now  con- 
vey new  ideas,  and  those  ideas  are  accompanied  by 
a  strange  power  which  pierces,  lays  open,  and 
searches  his  heart.  He  seems  as  if  God  had  found 
him  out,  and  told  another  man  all  about  him,  his 
hidden  sins,  his  bosom  pollutions,  and  covered 
deeds  which  had  been  even  forgotten,  but  which 
now  are  brought  strangely  to  his  view  again.  An 
unaccountable  impression  of  God's  presence,  of  a 
message,  a  warning,  a  call  from  God,  sinks  down 
into  his  soul.  He  feels,  as  he  never  felt  before, 
"  God  is  in  this  place  ;"  and,  falling  down  upon  his 
face,  forgetful  of  appearances,  and  heedless  of  con- 
sequences, periling  his  temporal  peace,  and  expos- 
ing himself  to  every  manner  of  remark,  he  wor- 
ships, in  bitterness  of  penitence,  an  offended,  but  a 
tbrgiving  God,  and  goes  forth  to  tell  those  with 
whom  he  comes  in  contact,  that  the  people  whose 


96  THE  TONGUE    OF   FIKE. 

words  had  searched  his  heart  and  made  manifest  its 
secrets  must  have  God  in  the  midst  of  them.  This 
was  the  gift  of  prophecy,  as  the  term  is  generally 
employed  in  the  New  Testament.  It  differs  from 
prophecy  in  the  ordinary  sense  in  this,  that  the  gift 
conveys  no  "  revelation,"  either  as  to  truth  hitherto 
unrevealed,  or  as  to  future  events.  It  differs  from 
the  gift  of  tongues  in  this,  that  the  intellect  and  or- 
gans act  according  to  natural  laws,  though  under  a 
supernatural  influence.  It  is  that  gift  through 
which  the  whole  of  man's  nature  works  in  co-oper- 
ation with  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  intellect  illuminated 
with  Divine  light,  the  moral  powers  quickened  by 
Divine  feeling,  and  the  physical  organs  speaking 
with  Divine  power.  This  is  placed  by  the  Apostle 
as  the  highest  gift — the  one  wherein  man  stands 
closest  in  communion  with  God  as  His  intelligent 
instrument  for  His  most  hallowed  work — the  work 
of  calling  prodigal  sons  back  to  His  arms,  and  of 
training  feeble  children  into  strength  and  stedfast- 
ness.  This  gift  was  that  which  had  the  most  direct 
utility,  was  capable  of  the  most  universal  applica- 
tion, and  was  destined  to  be  permanent ;  equally 
needful  for  the  converting  of  sinners  and  the  edify- 
ing of  the  Church ;  and  therefore  to  be  ever  kept 
in  view  by  the  Church  as  a  special  subject  of  pray- 
er: for,  let  this  cease,  and  Christianity  dwindles 
into  a  natural  agency  for  social  improvement, 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING  THE  BAPTISM   OF   FIRE.        97 

blessed  with  superhuman  doctrines,  but  destitute 
of  a  superhuman  power. 

If  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  is  to  exercise  a 
great  power  over  mankind,  it  must  be  either  by  en- 
listing extraordinary  men,  or  by  the  endowing  of 
ordinary  men  with  extraordinary  power.  It  does 
often  happen  that  men  whose  eloquence  would  affect 
and  sway,  whatever  might  have  been  their  theme, 
give  all  their  talents  to  the  Gospel ;  yet  in  such  cases 
it  ever  proves  that  the  religious  impression  produced 
upon  mankind  is  never  regulated  by  the  brilliancy 
or  natural  force  of  the  eloquence,  but  always  by  the 
extent  to  which  the  preacher  is  imbued  with  that 
indescribable  something  commonly  called  the  "  unc- 
tion," or  the  operation  and  power  of  the  Spirit. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  often  happens  that  a  man  in 
whose  natural  gifts  nothing  extraordinary  can  be 
discovered,  produces  moral  effects  which,  for  depth 
at  the  moment,  and  for  permanency,  are  totally  dis- 
proportioned  to  his  natural  powers.  In  hearing 
such  a  man,  and  afterward  discovering  the  effects 
of  his  preaching,  people  often  ask,  "  What  is  there 

in  Mr. to  account  for  such  effects  ?     We  hear 

many  who  are  abler,  profounder,  better  theologians, 
more  eloquent,  more  persuasive;  yet  this  man's 
preaching  brings  people  to  repentance  and  to  God." 
They  can  not  discover  the  source  of  his  power ;  and  it 
is  precisely  this  fact  which  intimates  that  it  is  spiritual. 


98  THE  TONGUE   OF  FIRE. 

On  the  day  of  Pentecost  Christianity  faced  the 
world,  a  new  religion,  and  a  poor  one,  without  a 
history,  without  a  priesthood,  without  a  college, 
without  a  people,  and  without  a  patron.  She  had 
only  her  two  sacraments  and  her  tongue  of  fire. 
The  latter  was  her  sole  instrument  of  aggression. 
All  that  was  ancient  and  venerable  rose  up  before 
her  in  solid  opposition.  No  passions  of  the  mob,  no 
theories  of  the  learned,  no  interests  of  the  politic 
favored  her ;  nor  did  she  flatter  or  conciliate  any 
one  of  them.  With  her  tongue  of  fire  she  assailed 
every  existing  system,  and  every  evil  habit ;  and 
by  that  tongue  of  fire  she  burned  her  way  through 
innumerable  forms  of  opposition.  In  asking  what 
was  her  power,  we  can  find  no  other  answer  than 
this  one,  "  The  tongue  of  fire." 

With  regard  to  one  of  her  Deacons,  Stephen,  it 
is  said  that  his  enemies  could  not  resist  the  wisdom 
and  the  power  with  which  he  spoke.  It  was  not 
every  disciple  who  had  the  gift  of  prophecy,  like 
him,  to  pour  out  in  clear  and  copious  utterance  the 
testimony  which  could  command  the  attention  of 
national  councils,  and  confound  the  sophisms  of  a 
college  of  disputers ;  but,  each  in  his  own  sphere 
and  style,  the  Christians  of  that  happy  day  were 
distinguished  among  their  fellow-men  by  a  strange 
power  of  declaring  the  deep  things  of  God.  Many 
of  them  would  go,  like  Andrew,  who  went  first  to 


.EFFECTS  FOLLOWING  THE   BAPTISM   OF   FIRE.        99 

"  his  own  brother  Simon,"  and  tell  their  kinsmen  of 
Jesus,  and  forgiveness,  and  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead,  and  the  world  to  come,  in  strains  which,  by 
some  unaccountable  power,  fixed  the  attention  and 
entered  the  heart.  Others  of  them  would  go,  as 
did  the  brothers  of  Nathanael,  telling  the  neghbors 
and  friends  whom  they  met  the  great  things  of  re- 
demption, so  that  prejudices,  even  the  strongest 
were  often  melted  in  the  fire  of  their  speech.  True, 
they  did  not  always  succeed,  but  how  marvelous 
their  success  was  notwithstanding !  Had  Christians 
of  the  present  day,  in  addressing  those  whose  con- 
science, creed,  early  impressions,  all  favor  every 
word  they  say,  but  that  strange  influence  which 
bore  down  the  most  rooted  aversion,  how  rapid  and 
how  glorious  would  be  the  spread  of  living  religion 
in  the  land ! 

This  power  of  utterance  is  ordinarily  referred  to 
throughout  the  N"ew  Testament  as  at  once  the  gift 
of  God  and  the  great  weapon  of  the  Church.  We 
have  already  noticed  how,  when  opposition  first 
threatened  them,  they  went  in  earnest  prayer  to 
God,  and  asked  for  power,  that  they  might  speak 
His  word  with  boldness.  So  when  any  one  of  them, 
in  critical  circumstances,  is  enabled  specially  to  de- 
clare and  magnify  the  Truth,  we  are  told  that  he 
does  so,  "  being  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost ;"  and 
Paul,  who,  though  he  was  not  present  on  the  day 


100  THE   TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

of  Pentecost,  received  the  tongue  of  fire  in  a  very 
remarkable  degree,  did  not  hold  that  gift  as  being 
constitutional,  like  natural  talents  and  aptitude  of 
speech.  Among  the  subjects  with  regard  to  which 
he  entreats  the  prayers  of  his  Christian  brethren,  he 
specially  mentions  "  utterance."  "  Praying  always 
with  all  prayer  and  supplication  in  the  Spirit,  and 
watching  thereunto  with  all  perseverance  and  sup- 
plication for  all  saints ;  and  for  me,  that  utterance 
may  be  given  unto  me,  that  I  may  open  my  mouth 
boldly  to  make  known  the  riches  of  the  Gospel." 
Again  and  again  have  we  brought  before  us  the 
fact,  that  this  utterance  is  the  direct  gift  of  God ; 
nor  are  we  without  traces  of  the  same  fact  in  earlier 
times  than  those  of  Christianity.  In  the  cases  of 
Mary  and  Elizabeth,  we  hear  them,  under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Divine  Spirit,  uttering  great  and  glori- 
ous things.  In  the  cases  of  Jeremiah  and  Isaiah, 
we  find  the  Lord  making  Himself  their  strength  in 
regard  to  the  message  wherewith  He  charged 
them ;  and  in  the  case  of  Moses,  the  gift  of  speech 
was  especially  promised  to  him,  but  his  faith  failed, 
and  consequently  another  had  to  exercise  that 
power  which,  had  he  believed,  he  himself  would 
have  fully  possessed. 

In  all  the  history  of  the  primitive  Christians,  we 
find  traces  of  the  effect  produced  upon  men  by  the 
testimony  they  bore,  even  when  bearing  it  under 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING   THE   BAPTISM    OF   FIRE.     101 

the  constraint  of  public  persecution,  and  in  the  face 
of  impending  danger.  Without  a  press,  without  a 
literature,  without  any  of  our  modern  means  of  in- 
fluencing masses  of  men ;  cast  solely  on  the  one  in- 
strument of  the  tongue,  and  in  that  destitute  of  the 
wisdom  of  the  Greek,  and  of  the  skill  of  the  scribe; 
seldom  favored  with  the  opportunity  of  repeatedly 
addressing  numerous  assemblies  of  the  same  indi- 
viduals; destitute  of  prestige,  contemptible  in  num- 
bers, rustic  in  manners,  and  thwarted  by  circum- 
stances ;  strong  only  in  the  one  peculiar  attribute — 
the  unseen  fire  which  filled  them ;  on  they  went, 
and  on,  turning  the  hearts  of  their  enemies,  and 
advancing  the  name  of  the  Lord. 

Religion  has  never,  in  any  period,  sustained  itself 
except  by  the  instrumentality  of  the  tongue  of  fire. 
Only  where  some  men,  more  or  less  imbued  with 
this  primitive  power,  have  spoken  the  words  of  the 
Lord,  not  with  "  the  words  which  man's  wisdom 
teacheth,  but  which  the  Holy  Ghost  teacheth,"  have 
sinners  been  converted,  and  saints  prompted  to  a 
saintlier  life.  In  many  periods  of  the  history  of  the 
Church,  as  this  gift  has  waned,  every  natural  ad- 
vantage has  come  to  replace  it: — more  learning, 
more  system,  more  calmness,  more  profoundness  of 
reflection,  every  thing,  in  fact,  which,  according  to 
the  ordinary  rules  of  human  thought,  would  insure 
to  the  Christian  Church  a  greater  command  over 


102  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

the  intellect  of  mankind,  and  would  give  her  argu- 
ments in  favor  of  a  holy  life  a  more  potent  efficacy. 
Yet  it  has  ever  proved  that  the  gam  of  all  this, 
when  accompanied  with  an  abatement  of  the  "fire," 
has  left  the  Church  less  efficient ;  and  her  elaborate 
and  weighty  lessons  have  transformed  few  into 
saints,  though  her  simple  tongue  of  fire  had  contin- 
ually reared  up  its  monuments  of  wonder.  This 
has  been  not  less  the  case  in  modern  times  than  in 
ancient. 

If  the  amazing  revival  which  characterized  the 
last  century,  be  viewed  merely  as  a  natural  pro- 
gress of  mental  influence,  no  analysis  can  find  ele- 
ments of  power  greater  than  have  often  existed  in  a 
corrupting  and  falling  Church,  or  than  are  found  at 
many  periods  when  no  blessed  effects  are  produced. 
Men  equally  learned,  eloquent,  orthodox,  instruct- 
ive, may  be  found  in  many  ages  of  Christianity.  It 
is  utterly  impossible  to  assign  a  natural  reason  why 
Whitfield  should  have  been  the  means  of  convert- 
ing so  many  more  sinners  than  other  men.  With- 
out one  trace  of  logic,  philosophy,  or  any  thing 
worthy  to  be  called  systematic  theology,  his  ser- 
mons, viewed  intellectually,  take  an  humble  place 
among  humble  efforts.  Turning  again  to  his  friend, 
Wesley,  we  find  calmness,  clearness,  logic,  theology, 
discussion,  definition,  point,  appeal,  but  none  of 
that  prodigious  and  unaccountable  power  which  the 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING  THE   BAPTISM   OF   FIRE.     10-3 

human  intellect  would  naturally  connect  with  move- 
ments so  amazing  as  those  which  took  place  under 
his  word.  Neither  the  logic  of  the  one,  nor  the 
declamation  of  the  other,  furnishes  us  with  the  se- 
cret of  his  success.  There  is  enough  to  account  for 
men  being  affected,  excited,  or  convinced ;  but  that 
does  not  account  for  their  living  holy  lives  ever 
after.  Thousands  of  pulpit  orators  have  swayed 
their  audience,  as  a  wind  sways  standing  corn ;  but, 
in  the  result,  those  who  were  most  affected,  differed 
nothing  from  their  former  selves.  An  effect  of  elo- 
quence is  sufficient  to  account  for  a  vast  amount  of 
feeling  at  the  moment ;  but  to  trace  to  this  a  moral 
power,  by  which  a  man,  for  his  life  long,  overcomes 
his  besetting  sins,  and  adorns  his  name  with  Chris- 
tian virtues,  is  to  make  sport  of  human  nature. 

Why  should  these  men  have  done  what  many 
equally  learned  and  able,  as  divines  and  orators, 
never  did  ?  There  must  have  been  an  element  of 
power  in  them  which  criticism  can  not  discover. 
What  was  that  power  ?  It  must  be  judged  of  by 
its  sphere  and  its  effects.  Where  did  it  act  ?  and 
what  did  it  produce?  Every  power  has  its  own 
sphere.  The  strongest  arm  will  never  convince  the 
understanding,  the  most  forcible  reasoning  will 
never  lift  a  weight,  the  brightest  sunbeam  will  never 
pierce  a  plate  of  iron,  nor  the  most  powerful  magnet 
move  a  pane  of  glass.  The  soul  of  man  has  separate 


104  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

regions,  and  that  which  merely  convinces  the  intel- 
lect may  leave  the  emotions  untouched,  that  which 
merely  operates  on  the  emotions  may  leave  the  un- 
derstanding unsatisfied,  and  that  which  affects  both 
may  yet  leave  the  moral  powers  uninspired.  The 
crowning  power  of  the  messenger  of  God  is  power 
over  the  moral  man ;  power  which,  whether  it  ap- 
proaches the  soul  through  the  avenue  of  the  intel- 
lect or  of  the  affections,  does  reach  into  the  soul. 
The  sphere  of  true  Christian  power  is  the  heart — 
the  moral  man ;  and  the  result  of  its  action  is  not 
to  be  surely  distinguished  from  that  of  mere  elo- 
quence by  instantaneous  emotion,  but  by  subse- 
quent moral  fruit.  Power  which  cleanses  the 
heart,  and  produces  holy  living,  is  the  power  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  It  may  be  through  the  logic  of  Wes- 
ley, the  declamation  of  Whitfield,  or  the  simple 
common-sense  of  a  plain  servant- woman  or  laboring 
man;  but  whenever  this  power  is  in  action,  it 
strikes  deeper  into  human  nature  than  any  mere 
reasoning  or  pathos.  Possibly  it  does  not  so  soon 
bring  a  tear  to  the  eye,  or  throw  the  judgment  into 
a  posture  of  acquiescence;  but  it  raises  in  the 
breast  thoughts  of  God,  eternity,  sin,  death,  heaven, 
and  hell ;  raises  them,  not  as  mere  ideas,  opinions, 
or  articles  of  faith,  but  as  the  images  and  echoes  of 
real  things. 

We  may  find  in  many  parts  ol  the  country,  where 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING   THE   BAPTISM    OF   FIRE.      105 

much  has  been  done  to  dispel  darkness  and  diffuse 
true  religion,  that  some  of  the  first  triumphs  of 
grace  were  entirely  due  to  the  wonderful  effects 
produced  by  the  private  and  fire-side  talking  of 
some  humble  Christians,  who  had  themselves  gone 
to  the  throne  of  grace,  and  waited  there  until  they 
had  received  the  baptism  of  fire. 

In  proportion  as  the  power  of  this  one  instrument 
is  overlooked,  and  other  means  are  trusted  in  to 
supply  its  place,  does  the  true  force  of  Christian 
agency  decline ;  and  it  may  without  hesitation  be 
said,  that  when  men  holding  the  Christian  ministry, 
habitually  and  constantly  manifest  their  distrust  in 
the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  give  them  utter- 
ance, they  publicly  abjure  the  true  theory  of  Chris- 
tian preaching.  It  is,  according  to  the  authority  of 
its  Author,  delivering  a  message  from  God — a  mes- 
sage through  man,  it  is  true;  but  delivered  not 
with  the  excellency  of  man's  speech,  not  under  the 
guidance  of  man's  natural  wisdom ;  a  message,  the 
effect  of  which  does  not  rest  upon  the  artistic  ar- 
rangement, choice,  and  order  of  words,  but  upon 
the  extent  to  which  its  utterance  is  pervaded  by  the 
Holy  Ghost. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

CONTINUED. 
SECTION  IV. EFFECTS   UPON  THE   WORLD. 

WHEN  the  promise  of  the  Spirit  was  given,  our 
Lord  expressly  intimated  that  His  influence  should 
not  be  confined  to  the  Church,  but  that  He  should 
"  convince  the  world  of  sin,  and  of  righteousness, 
and  of  judgment."  It  was  only  thus  that  the  Church 
could  be  extended  beyond  the  number  of  the  orig- 
inal disciples.  Through  the  gifts  bestowed  upon 
Peter,  the  Spirit  moved  to  the  fulfillment  of  His 
great  office  in  the  hearts  of  worldly  men.  Both  the 
miraculous  and  the  ministerial  gifts  were  made  sub- 
servient to  this  end.  The  former  was  a  wonder 
which  raised  curiosity  and  then  amazement,  which 
brought  together  a  multitude,  first  excited,  finally 
awed.  This,  however,  was  all  it  did.  Had  the 
events  of  the  day  ended  with  the  pure  effect  of 
the  miracle,  perhaps  no  Jew  would  have  become 
a  Christian,  and  certainly  no  sinner  would  have 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING   THE   BAPTISM    OF   FIRE.     107 

become  a  saint.  The  miracle  prepared  an  audi- 
ence for  the  preacher ;  but  it  did  not  convert,  and 
did  not  even  instruct  them:  no  one  there  knew 
the  doctrine  of  the  incarnation,  and  its  glorious  con- 
comitants, when  Peter  stood  up  to  preach.  All  that 
the  gift  of  tongues  did  was  to  produce  an  impression 
that  these  men  were  messengers  of  God.  And  even 
this  it  did  not  produce  on  all ;  for  some  mocked ; 
probably  people  of  the  place,  on  whom  the  effect  of 
the  foreign  tongues  was  lost. 

The  entire  advantage  which  Peter,  as  a  preacher 
of  Christianity,  derived  from  the  evidences  of  his 
religion,  when  he  stood  up  on  the  day  of  Pentecost, 
amounted  to  this :  a  large  number  of  men  were 
congregated  in  a  state  of  much  agitation,  fresh  from 
the  impression  of  a  prodigy  before  unimagined,  and 
with  a  strong  suspicion  that  the  preacher  and  hie 
coadjutors  were  probably  teachers  from  God.  His 
advantage,  as  compared  with  a  modern  preacher, 
lay  in  the  freshness  of  this  feeling — in  the  opened 
state  of  the  mind  just  after  an  indisputable  marvel 
had  forced  a  passage  through  all  its  prejudices. 
His  disadvantages  lay  in  the  comparative  ignorance 
of  his  hearers,  in  their  disbelief  of  most  of  the  points 
wherewith  he  wished  to  impress  them,  in  the 
amount  of  religious  and  national  prejudice  which 
fortified  this  belief,  in  the  array  of  temporal  inter- 
ests which  stood  up  against  his  appeal,  in  the  dis- 


108  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

credit  attached  to  his  position,  the  obscurity  of  his 
person,  and  the  rustic  stamp  of  his  speech. 

Putting  his  single  advantage  on  the  one  side,  and 
his  many  disadvantages  on  the  other,  we  naturally 
raise  the  question,  Had  he  more  advantage  from  the 
miracle  of  tongues  than  the  modern  preacher  has 
from  the  Christian  evidences  generally  ?  It  would 
be  hard  to  exaggerate  the  value  of  that  freshness  of 
impression  under  which  he  found  his  hearers ;  yet, 
taking  the  whole  course  of  human  nature,  the  mir- 
acle, whether  in  the  hand  of  Moses,  the  Prophets, 
or  the  Lord  Himself— however  mighty  as  an  instru- 
ment of  impression,  as  a  credential  of  a  Divine  mis- 
sion, never  proved  an  instrument  of  moral  regener- 
ation to  the  people. 

From  the  Pentecostal  and  other  miracles,  from 
the  whole  array  of  the  Christian  evidences,  the 
modern  preacher  derives  the  advantage  of  an  audi- 
ence who  believe  that  every  doctrine  he  propounds 
is  truly  the  word  of  God.  Within  their  conscience 
he  has  far  more  on  his  side  than  Peter  had  in  the 
consciences  of  his  auditory.  Peter  had  the  advan- 
tage of  a  fresh  and  excited  feeling:  the  modern 
preacher  has  that  of  standing  closer  home  upon  the 
conscience.  The  latter  often  thinks  how  much  might 
be  effected  had  he  only  some  such  supernatural 
sign  as  arrested  the  multitude  on  the  day  of  Pente- 
cost :  what  would  Peter  have  thought  of  his  pros- 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING  THE   BAPTISM    OF   FIRE.       109 

pects,  if,  instead  of  such  an  audience  as  he  had,  one 
had  been  offered  to  him  where  all  believed  that  .his 
Master  was  the  Son  of  God,  and  that  there  was  "  no 
other  name  given  under  heaven  among  men  where- 
by we  must  be  saved  ?" 

The  effect  of  the  miracle  was  a  general  impression 
in  favor  of  the  Divine  origin  of  the  message.  At 
this  point  the  ministerial  gift  came  into  operation. 
By  an  ability  clearly  to  state  and  argue  the  truth, 
Peter  was  enabled  to  put  the  understanding  of  his 
hearers  into  possession  of  the  great  revelation,  that 
God  had  sent  His  Son  to  redeem  them.  By  a  sacred 
pathos,  he  was  enabled  to  engage  their  sympathies 
in  favor  of  each  truth,  as  he  presented  it.  Clear  and 
feeling  utterance  of  the  Gospel  was  his  ministerial 
gift :  understanding  and  impression  were  its  effects. 

The  united  effect  of  the  miraculous  and  ministerial 
gift  amounted  to — favorable  attention,  understand- 
ing of  the  truth,  and  inclination  to  embrace  it.  But 
had  no  power  beyond  the  testimony  of  the  miracle, 
and  the  appeal  of  the  sermon,  touched  the  souls  of 
the  auditors,  what  single  individual  would  have  em- 
braced truth  so  dangerous  to  his  respectability  and 
coonfort,  however  convinced  that  it  was  of  heavenly 
origin,  and  fraught  with  eternal  advantages  ?  The 
inclination  toward  such  a  step  raised  by  Peter's 
warmth,  would  have  been  counteracted  by  many 
and  potent  inclinations  of  interest  and  of  nature. 


110  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

Nothing  is  more  common  than  for  the  human  mind 
to  turn  its  back  upon  a  truth,  firmly  believed  to  be 
from  God,  deeply  felt  to  carry  eternal  hopes,  but 
demanding  the  sacrifice  of  present  gratifications,  or 
of  the  friendship  of  the  world.  Mere  conviction 
never  carries  a  point  of  practical  moral  conduct. 

Deeper  than  the  judgment,  deeper  than  the  feel- 
ings, lies  the  seat  of  human  character,  in  that  which 
is  the  mystery  of  all  beings  and  all  things,  in  what 
we  call  their  "  nature,"  without  knowing  where  it 
lies,  what  it  is,  or  how  it  wields  its  power.  All  we 
know  is,  that  it  does  exert  a  power  over  external 
circumstances,  bending  them  all  in  its  own  direction, 
or  breaking  its  instruments  against  what  it  can  not 
bend.  The  nature  of  an  acorn  turns  dews,  air,  soils, 
and  sunbeams  to  oak;  and  though  circumstances 
may  destroy  its  power,  they  can  not  divert  it  while 
it  survives.  It  defies  man,  beast,  earth,  and  sky,  to 
make  it  produce  elm.  Cultivation  may  affect  its 
quality,  and  training  its  form ;  but  whether  it  shall 
produce  oak,  ash,  or  elm,  is  a  matter  into  which  no 
force  from  without  can  enter,  a  matter  not  of  cir- 
cumstances, but  purely  of  nature.  To  turn  nature 
belongs  to  the  Power  which  originally  fixed  nature. 

In  man  feelings  and  intellect  are  related  to  NA- 
TURE, as  in  a  plant  tissues  and  juices :  they  derive 
their  character  from  nature,  and  manifest  its  bent; 
but  are  not  nature,  though  the  means  by  which  it 


EFFECTS  FOLLOWING  THE  BAPTISM   OF  FIRE.       Ill 

acts  on  the  external  world,  and  is  reacted  upon  by 
it.  Nature  does  not  decide  the  comparative  excel- 
lence of  character  in  the  different  members  of  the 
same  species:  one  oak  may  be  much  stronger  than 
another,  one  rose  much  sweeter;  one  man  much 
wiser,  or  more  generous.  The  nature  of  man  is  es- 
sentially moral;  and  when  intellect  shoots  up  to 
eminence,  it  depends  on  the  moral  nature  whether 
it  is  a  blessing  or  a  curse  to  the  species,  a  joy  or  a 
trouble  to  the  individual.  According  to  the  moral 
nature,  are  the  intellectual  powers  directed  ;  and  in 
man  often  wastefully,  often  hurtfully — as  to  the 
great  majority,  in  ways  far  below  their  capability. 
Just  as  in  all  other  objects,  so  in  man,  his  nature 
eludes  our  analysis,  lies  out  of  sight,  and  defies  our 
direct  influence.  We  approach  it  through  the  intel- 
lect, or  the  feelings ;  but  always  with  uncertainty, 
never  knowing  what  unseen  power  may  counter- 
work our  most  careful  endeavors. 

It  is  the  nature  of  fallen  man  to  prefer  present 
pleasure  to  the  prospect  of  eternal  happiness,  the 
favor  of  the  world  to  the  favor  of  the  Almighty ; 
to  love  himself,  and  forget  his  Creator.  In  adults 
this  nature  is  fortified  by  its  own  developments ;  by 
habits  and  connections  which  all  tend  in  its  own 
direction.  When  a  man's  nature  in  boyhood  pro- 
duced fruits  of  vice  and  trouble,  when  his  advanc- 
ing years  have  steadily  answered  the  impulse  of  the 


112  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

same  nature,  and  his  present  associations  are  all 
based  upon  an  alienation  from  heavenly  ties;  to 
bring  him  into  immediate  and  permanent  conformity 
to  a  Divine  ideal  of  life,  requires  the  ultimate  Power 
of  the  universe,  the  Power  which  rules  NATUBE,  and 
through  nature  circumstances.  Set  before  all  the 
wise  and  good  of  the  world  one  man  of  thirty 
years,  or  upward,  whose  life  has  been  wicked  or 
worldly ;  and  tell  them  by  a  word,  a  warning,  or  an 
appeal,  infallibly  to  change  him  then  and  there  to  a 
pure  man,  or  to  a  pious  man ;  and  they  will  each  be 
ready  to  exclaim,  "Am  I  God  that  I  should  do 
this?" 

To  say  that  man  is  the  creature  of  circumstances 
is  as  much  as  to  say  that  he  is  destitute  of  a  nature; 
for,  where  a  nature  is,  there  is  a  power,  a  power  of 
which  circumstances  are  often  the  mere  effect,  but 
are  never  the  masters.  Let  all  the  circumstances 
under  heaven  conspire  against  the  force  of  nature, 
as  embodied  in  a  seed  of  thorn,  and  they  can  never 
defeat  it:  all  the  gardeners,  manures,  heats,  and 
waterings  possible,  would  fail  to  make  it  produce 
fir.  Heap  upon  it  every  advantage  which  art  and 
creation  can  give,  and  it  will  steadily  turn  all  to 
thorn,  hopelessly  incapable  of  rising  above  its 
nature. 

Change  your  treatment,  and  endeavor  to  debase 
it,  and  the  same  superiority  of  nature  to  circum- 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING  THE  BAPTISM   OF   FIKE.       113 

stances  continues  to  manifest  itself.  You  may 
starve  it  to  death,  you  may  stunt  or  blight  it,  but 
by  no  adversity  will  it  degenerate  to  brier ;  thorn 
in  spite  of  allurements  upward,  thorn  in  spite  of 
repulses  downward :  as  it  can  never  rise  above,  so 
it  can  never  sink  below,  its  nature.  Circumstances 
are  the  creatures  of  natures,  not  natures  of  circum- 
stances. 

Human  nature  is  said  by  many  to  be  good :  if  so, 
where  have  social  evils  come  from  ?  For  human 
nature  is  the  only  moral  nature  in  that  corrupting 
thing  called  "  society."  Every  evil  example  set  be- 
fore the  child  of  to-day  is  the  fruit  of  human  nature. 
It  has  been  planted  on  every  possible  field — among 
the  snows  that  never  melt ;  in  temperate  regions, 
and  under  the  line ;  in  crowded  cities,  in  lonely  for- 
ests; in  ancient  seats  of  civilization,  in  new  col- 
onies ;  and  in  all  these  fields  it  has,  without  once 
failing,  brought  forth  a  crop  of  sins  and  troubles. 
This  is  absolute  and  inexpugnable  proof  that  human 
nature,  in  the  aggregate,  is  a  seed  which  produces 
sins  and  troubles. 

But  a  proof  lies  nearer  the  breast  of  each  man. 
When  you  meant  to  do  a  wrong,  and  had  made  up 
your  mind  upon  it,  did  any  instinct  within  you  tell 
you  that  you  were  unable,  and  must  seek  super- 
natural help  to  carry  out  your  intention  ?  Never. 
You  felt  that  to  go  forward  was  not  only  easy,  but 


114  THE  TONGUE   OP  FIRE. 

almost  irresistible;  was,  in  fact,  yielding  to  na- 
ture. 

When  you  had  made  up  your  mind  to  overcome 
wrong  inclinations,  and  to  do  right,  and  only  right, 
did  not  an  instinct  as  unfailing  as  that  whereby  an 
infant  searches  for  the  breast  of  a  mother,  teach 
you  to  seek  help,  inward  help,  help  against  your- 
self? A  decision  to  do  wrong  finds  you  strong  in 
your  own  strength ;  a  decision  to  conquer  wrong, 
and  do  right,  sends  you  to  your  knees,  or  makes 
you  cry,  "  God  help  me !"  If  that  be  so,  you  need 
consult  no  man's  books  as  to  what  side  your  nature 
is  inclined  to. 

Man  is  the  only  being  coming  within  our  knowl- 
edge who  has  a  nature  that  is  plainly  unnatural. 
This  language  is  not  paradoxical  for  the  sake  of 
paradox,  but  for  the  sake  of  strictly  describing  a 
mournful  fact.  Is  a  nature  natural  which  can  be 
changed  without  destroying  the  identity  ?  That  of 
man  can  be  changed,  and  not  only  leave  his  identity 
perfect,  but  restore  the  course  of  a  higher,  and  evi- 
dently an  older,  nature  than  the  one  which  had  pre- 
viously reigned.  Is  a  nature  natural  which  urges 
toward  courses  which  blight  and  ruin?  Human 
nature,  when  least  affected  by  culture,  in  the  lone- 
liest and  loveliest  islands  of  unfrequented  seas,  urges 
to  courses  of  headlong  ruin  and  destruction.  In  the 
highest  seats  of  civilization,  it  urges  men  to  neglect 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING  THE  BAPTISM   OF   FIRE.      115 

the  God  of  all,  though  they  believe  that  to  Him 
they  are  indebted  for  being,  reason,  and  joy,  and 
on  Him  are  dependent  for  their  continuance;  urges 
them  to  neglect  objects  which  they  believe  to  be 
truly  noble  and  of  eternal  utility,  for  pleasures 
which  they  can  not  help  despising,  and  for  gains 
which  they  know  are  neither  honorable  nor  lasting. 
In  proof  of  this  more  than  enough  is  said  by  the 
simple  words,  London,  Paris,  Rome.  Tet,  while 
their  nature  is  thus  over-riding  their  true  dignity, 
true  happiness,  and  true  interest,  a  voice  within,  as 
if  of  a  friend  who  has  survived  from  better  days, 
is  ever  protesting  against  this  monstrous  condi- 
tion of  things,  and  averring  that  this  nature  is  not 
nature. 

There  is  not  a  beast  of  the  field  but  may  trust 
his  nature  and  follow  it ;  certain  that  it  will  lead 
him  to  the  best  of  which  he  is  capable.  But  as 
for  us,  our  only  invincible  enemy  is  our  nature ; 
were  it  sound,  we  could  hold  circumstances  as 
lightly  as  Samson's  withs ;  but  it  is  evermore  be- 
traying us.  Often,  when  we  honestly  meant  to  be 
good  and  noble,  our  miserable  nature,  at  the  first 
favorable  juncture  of  circumstances,  betrayed  us 
again,  and  we  found  ourselves  falling  by  our  own 
hands,  and  bitterly  felt  that  we  were  our  own  ene- 
mies. Heal  us  at  the  heart,  and  then  let  the  world 
come  on !  we  are  ready  for  the  conflict.  Make 


116  THE  TONGTTE   OF   FIRE. 

us  sound  within,  and  we  will  stand  in  the  evil 
day.  We  can  defy  circumstances,  and  resist  the 
devil,  if  only  our  own  breast  become  not  a  hold  of 
traitors ;  if  inclinations,  silent,  subtle,  and  strong  as 
nature,  do  not  arise  to  beguile  us  into  captivity  to 
evil. 

You  tell  us  to  withstand  these  inclinations,  not  to 
yield  to  our  impulses,  but  to  subject  them  to 
reason ;  that  is,  not  to  follow  nature  which  is  in- 
ward and  impulsive,  but  to  be  guided  by  external 
indexes  which  Observation  notes,  Reason  interprets, 
and  Will  may  apply  to  the  control  of  nature.  That, 
in  fact,  is  saying,  "  Do  not  live  by  your  nature,  but 
resist  your  nature."  What  a  world  of  appalling 
truth  comes  in  with  that  one  admonition !  My 
nature  not  a  nature  to  live  by !  Self-regard  putting 
me  on  the  watch  against  nature !  A  nature,  and 
that  the  highest  nature  in  this  terrestrial  system, 
self-injurious !  This  is  not  Thy  handiwork,  O  Eter- 
nal Parent,  Author  of  order,  beauty,  and  love; 
Creator  of  natures,  each  of  which  is  in  unison  with 
itself,  and  in  harmony  with  all  Thy  other  creat- 
ures !  What  has  happened  since  man  first  left  Thy 
hand? 

It  was  strange  to  see  three  thousand  men,  after 
one  hearing  of  a  new  and  untried  religion,  accept  it 
as  their  faith,  and  publicly  enrol  themselves  as  its 
disciples.  It  was  especially  strange,  since  the  men 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING   THE  BAPTISM    OF   FIRE.       117 

at  whose  hands  they,  with  docility,  took  the  sacra- 
mental pledge  of  their  conversion,  were  men  with- 
out repute,  whom  they  had  themselves  previously 
despised.  But  it  is  not  till  after  some  weeks  have 
elapsed  that  the  highest  wonder  of  this  phenomenon 
breaks  upon  us. 

Human  nature  is  liable  to  unaccountable  illusions, 
and  multitudes  to  ungovernable  impulses.  It  may 
be  that  in  a  week  or  two  we  shall  find  those  thou- 
sands of  a  thousand  different  views,  as  to  what  they 
had  heard  from  Peter  on  the  day  of  Pentecost, 
and  as  to  the  pardon  and  grace  which  he  had  pro- 
fessed to  declare  to  them.  But,  as  day  by  day  we 
watch  that  throng,  moral  marvels  come  continually 
into  view.  What  was  so  rare  in  human  nature  is 
now  ordinary,  a  holy  man.  Persons  who  were  as 
common-place  in  character  as  can  be  conceived,  now 
live  before  us,  saints.  The  vile  have  become  noble, 
the  churl  self-denying,  the  bitter  gentle,  the  sensual 
wonderfully  pure.  A  community  drawn  from  Jews 
of  the  ordinary  standard,  from  persons  of  every 
variety  of  character  and  of  sinfulness,  is  a  com- 
munity so  pure,  so  far  beyond  what  human  eyes 
ever  have  seen  before,  that  it  seems  as  a  commence- 
ment of  heaven  upon  earth.  Raised  suddenly  into 
saintship,  they  steadily  maintain  their  moral  ele- 
vation ;  first  astonishing  and  captivating  those 


18  THE   TONGUE    OF   FIRE. 

who  look  on,  and  then  withstanding  all  the  oppo- 
sition which  prejudice  and  power  can  bring  to  crush 
them. 

Day  after  day,  month  after  month,  year  after 
year,  this  new  and  glorious  life  goes  on.  These 
men,  lifted  up  from  the  ordinary  level  of  sinners, 
continue  "  steadfast  in  the  Apostles'  fellowship,  and 
in  breaking  of  bread  and  prayers,"  "  filled  with  the 
Holy  Ghost,"  rich  in  faith,  overflowing  with  inward 
consolation;  not  seeing  their  glorified  Redeemer 
with  the  eye,  but  more  than  seeing  with  the  heart 
— feeling,  embracing  Him,  they  "rejoice  with  joy 
unspeakable  and  full  of  glory."  Their  close  pros- 
pect is  immortality,  their  citizenship  is  in  heaven, 
their  wealth  lies  where  change  can  never  reduce  it, 
nor  moth  corrupt,  nor  thief  steal.  Happy  upon 
earth,  and  inheriters  of  heaven,  it  is  naught  to 
them  that  all  mankind  frown  upon  them;  they 
know  that  they  "  are  of  God,  and  the  whole  world 
lieth  in  wickedness."  Their  saintliness  spreads  its 
fame  to  the  ends  of  the  earth — -a  fame  that  has 
never  died  until  our  day  ;  and  even  upon  onr 
homes  and  our  hearts  are  now  descending  the  mild 
and  holy  influences  of  the  first  community  called 
into  existence  by  the  tongue  of  fire. 

Three  thousand  men  permanently  raised  from 
death  in  sin  to  a  life  of  holiness  !  Three  thousand 
sinners  converted  into  saints  !  Three  thousand 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING   THE   BAPTISM    OF   FIRE.       119 

new-made  saints  enabled  day  by  day  to  walk  in  the 
fear  of  God,  and  in  the  comfort  of  the  Holy  Ghost ! 
Three  thousand  of  our  brethren,  weak,  sinful  by 
nature,  open  to  the  temptings  of  Satan  even  as  we 
are,  maintaining  a  life  in  the  body  which  almost 
surpasses  belief,  so  is  it  marked  with  goodness  and 
with  purity ! 

This,  of  all  the  spectacles  of  Pentecost,  is  the  one 
that  speaks  in  deepest  tones  to  the  heart.  On  those 
three  thousand  we  gaze ;  and  our  souls  break  out 
with  adoration.  Glory,  honor,  salvation  ! — for  now 
the  word  "  salvation"  may  be  boldly  uttered  by 
human  lips — salvation  is  come,  is  come  to  the  race 
of  Adam !  Here,  we  see  it,  not  in  word,  not  in 
promise,  but  in  practical  demonstration  ;  in  human 
beings  redeemed ;  in  our  nature  recovered  from 
sin,  and  that  not  hi  a  solitary  convert,  not  in  one 
ardent  youth,  or  in  one  exhausted  worldling,  but  in 
hundreds  and  thousands  of  men  with  ordinary 
hearts,  and  wants,  and  employments,  to  whom 
human  life  has  become  a  fellowship  with  God,  and  a 
straight  road  to  eternal  joy. 

We  have  already  said  that  we  may  speak  of  a 
physical  miracle  and  of  a  mental  miracle  ;  and  to 
this  we  may  add  a  moral  miracle.  Mind,  we  have 
said,  is  greater  than  matter,  and  therefore  a  work 
wrought  in  mind  is  greater  than  one  wrought  in 
matter;  it  bespeaks  not  merely  a  power,  but  a 


120  THE   TONGUE    OF   FIRE. 

spirit.  Just  as  intellect  sways  matter,  so  does  that 
for  which  it  is  hard  to  find  a  name — the  moral 
nature,  the  self  and  substance  of  a  man,  the  HEAKT 
— sway  the  intellect.  We  will  use  the  word  "heart," 
not  to  signify  the  emotional  nature,  represented 
in  Scripture  by  the  "bowels,"  but  the  moral  na- 
ture ;  that  is,  so  far  as  man  is  concerned,  NATURE. 
The  heart  commands  the  man.  Give  me  a  heart, 
and  you  give  me  a  man ;  it  carries  both  a  mind  and 
a  body  with  it.  Heart  is  the  greatest  thing  below 
the  sky ;  the  nearest  to  the  government  above,  that 
which  sways  intellect,  and  sways  all  things  human. 
A  work,  then,  wrought  upon  heart,  is  the  highest 
order  of  operation  to  which  human  nature  can 
afford  a  sphere.  Christianity  professes  to  be  a 
system  for  that  which  has  never  been  otherwise 
professed — the  renewing  of  bad  hearts  in  the  image 
of  the  God  of  heaven.  To  this  all  its  powers  are 
directed ;  and  until  this  is  done,  Christianity  is  but 
a  theory.  All  previous  to  this  is  but  as  the  verbal 
explanation  of  principles  by  a  physical  philosopher, 
lacking  his  ocular  demonstration.  The  problem  of 
our  nature  is  how  to  make  the  bad  good ;  that  is, 
how  to  change  nature,  which,  by  natural  power,  is 
absolutely  impossible. 

In  the  physical  miracle  we  see  the  God  of  nature 
accrediting  revelation;  in  the  mental  miracle  we 
see  the  God  of  mind  accrediting  revelation.  In 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING  THE   BAPTISM    OF   FIRE.       121 

both  these,  nature  is  counter-worked,  and  a  power 
above  nature  manifested.  It  is  a  grand  and  mem- 
orable thing  to  see  the  sea  dried  up,  or  to  see  the 
human  mine  illuminated  with  the  lights  of  prophecy 
or  the  gift  of  tongues ;  but  the  highest  manifesta- 
tion of  a  power  above  nature,  of  a  power  acting 
against  and  contrary  to  nature,  is,  when  the  bad 
suddenly  becomes  good;  the  impure,  pure;  when 
a  clean  thing  is  brought  out  of  an  unclean ;  when 
the  earthly  becomes  heavenly;  the  sensual,  spirit- 
ual; the  devilish,  like  God;  when  the  Ethiopian 
changes  his  skin,  and  the  leopard  his  spots ;  when 
instead  of  the  thorn  comes  up  the  fir-tree,  and  in- 
stead of  the  brier  comes  up  the  myrtle-tree.  Here 
is  the  Ruler,  not  of  the  physical  universe  over- 
ruling physical  nature,  or  of  the  mental  universe 
over-ruling  mental  nature,  but  the  Ruler  of  the 
moral  universe  over-ruling  moral  nature,  in  attesta- 
tion of  the  Gospel  of  His  own  grace. 

This,  though  not  in  the  technical  language  of 
theology  a  miracle,  is  so  in  common  sense.  Is  it 
nature  ?  Is  it  reducible  to  natural  law  ?  True,  it  is 
what  is  to  be  ordinarily  expected  in  Christianity 
but  expected  as  what  ?  as  a  fruit  of  natural  agency? 
or  of  supernatural  power  accompanying  that  agency, 
and  attesting  it  as  from  God  ?  Has  any  system  of 
religion  ever  embodied  such  a  conception  as  an 
evidence  that  God  was  in  it,  and  working  through 


122  THE  TONGUE   OP   FIRE. 

it,  which  would  admit  of  constant  application,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  would  strike  deeper  into  the 
human  soul  than  any  other  imaginable  demonstra- 
tion? This  is  the  singular  glory  of  the  Gospel. 
The  recovery  of  nature  from  her  fearful  fall,  the 
creating  anew  of  man  in  the  image  of  God,  the 
presenting  the  fir  instead  of  the  thorn,  the  myrtle 
instead  of  the  brier,  is  the  "EVERLASTING  SIGN, 

WHICH  SHALL  NOT  BE  CUT  OFF." 

Other  modes  whereby  the  Lord  attests  and  seals 
His  messengers,  whereby  His  operation  accredits 
His  word,  have  had  their  occasional  and  their  glori- 
ous field ;  but  this  sign  is  equally  adapted  to  all 
time,  claims  as  its  sphere  all  humanity,  and  ad- 
dresses not  the  judgment  merely,  but  the  con- 
science of  man,  proclaiming  to  him  the  presence  in 
the  earth  of  a  Power  that  heals  human  nature,  and 
restores  the  like  of  himself  to  the  image  of  God. 

Each  sinner  transformed  into  a  saint  is  a  new 
token  of  a  redeeming  power  among  men.  That 
token  declares  to  observers,  not  that  there  is  a 
King  in  heaven,  not  that  there  is  a  "Father  of 
lights,"  but  that  there  is  a  Saviour.  And  this  is  the 
testimony  which  the  world  especially  needs.  There 
are  few  things  hi  religion  which  men  doubt  more 
than  whether  it  is  possible  for  them,  as  individuals, 
to  escape  from  their  sins.  No  declaration  of  that  pos- 
sibility goes  so  far  to  convince  them,  as  seeing  those 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING  THE  BAPTISM    OF   FIRE.     123 

whom  they  have  known  as  weak  as  themselves,  as 
addicted  to  evil  as  themselves,  suddenly  changed, 
and  enabled  all  their  life  long  to  walk  "  as  seeing 
Him  who  is  invisible."  This  at  once  says  to  them, 
"There  is  One  who  has  power  on  earth  to  save 
from  sin ;"  and  when  they  know  that  their  neigh 
bor  ascribes  all  to  the  cross  of  Christ,  they  feel 
that  in  that  cross  must  lie  an  efficacy  by  which,  if 
ever  they  are  to  find  salvation,  that  salvation  must 
come. 

The  regeneration  of  a  sinner  is  an  evidence  of 
power  in  the  highest  sphere — moral  nature ;  with 
the  highest  prerogative — to  change  nature;  and 
operating  to  the  highest  result — not  to  create 
originally,  which  is  great;  but  to  create  anew, 
which  is  greater :  for,  when  nature  has  once  be- 
come evil,  how  infinite  the  glory  of  the  act  whereby 
again  it  takes  its  place  in  the  eye  of  the  universe, 
"very  good!"  The  creation  of  saints  out  of  sin- 
ners is  the  demonstration  whereby  the  divinity  of 
the  Gospel  is  most  shortly  and  most  convincingly 
displayed.  Of  all  the  Christian  evidences  it  alone 
proves  that  our  religion  does  save  from  sin. 

Again  we  look  back  to  those  three  thousand,  and 
in  the  sight  we  glory.  Our  nature  is  not  hopelessly 
lost !  Redemption  is  wrought  out !  Humanity  may 
be  sanctified  !  Communities  of  men  may  be  reared 


124  THE  TONGUE   OF  FIRE. 

who  shall  dwell  in  peace  and  love,  and  earth  may 
become  a  mirror  of  heaven !  Never,  below  the 
skies — never,  until  the  tragic  history  of  Adam's 
sons  is  ended,  can  we  escape  the  death  which  sin 
has  brought  upon  us,  and  its  correlative  woes.  But 
sin  itself  has  found  a  conqueror ;  not  sin  in  the  ab- 
stract, not  sin  in  some  philosophical  impersonation, 
not  sin  in  the  great  prince  of  the  powers  of  dark- 
ness ;  but  sin  in  human  hearts,  sin  in  my  nature,  sin 
girt  round  with  flesh  of  my  flesh,  and  bone  of  my 
bone,  flowing  in  veins  like  mine,  and  appealed  to 
by  temptations  of  the  mind  and  of  the  body,  just 
such  as  my  own.  Sin  in  living  man,  has  been  con- 
quered, its  Conqueror  reigns,  His  redeeming  power 
is  nigh  ;  and  in  those  converts  at  Jerusalem  I  see  a 
pledge  of  my  own  deliverance,  and  can  shout,  "  I, 
too,  shall  be  made  free  from  the  law  of  sin  and 
death !» 

We  see  a  pledge  of  the  deliverance  not  only  of 
individuals,  but  of  multitudes,  not  only  of  families, 
but  of  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands.  It  has 
been  too  much  the  fashion  for  Christians  to  look 
upon  pure  and  elevated  religion  as  applicable  only 
to  a  few.  At  a  time  when  Christianity  and  holiness 
became  different  things,  and  true  religion  was  look- 
ed upon  as  something  not  for  life,  but  for  a  con- 
dition secluded  from  life,  amounting,  for  practical 
purposes,  to  a  burial  before  the  time ;  a  style  of 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING  THE  BAPTISM   OF   FIRE.       125 

thinking  crept  in,  which  has  never  disappeared  to 
this  day.  In  the  Church  of  Rome  we  still  find  it 
maintained,  that  deep  holiness  finds  its  best  place 
away  from  human  life,  in  retreat  and  celibacy. 
Among  Protestants  this  error  is  rejected,  yet  prac- 
tical religion  is  looked  upon  as  something  not  to  be 
expected  to  gain  thousands  at  a  time,  and  to  renew 
communities  by  its  sacred  power,  but  rather  to  be 
a  select  blessing  for  a  few,  scattered  here  and  there, 
and  everywhere  little  discerned. 

Look  back  to  Pentecost.  See  Christianity  at  her 
first  step  raising  up  her  army  by  thousands.  She 
seeks  not  the  wilderness ;  she  seeks  not  the  few ; 
she  affects  not  little,  dispersed,  and  hidden  groups. 
In  the  sight  of  Jerusalem,  in  the  sight  of  the  world, 
she  starts  as  the  religion  of  the  multitude  ;  the  re- 
ligion of  fathers  and  mothers,  of  traders,  landown- 
ers, widows,  persons  of  all  classes  and  of  all  occu- 
pations. She  takes  in  her  hand,  at  the  very  first 
moment,  an  earnest  of  every  nation,  and  kindred, 
and  people,  and  tongue,  of  every  grade  and  age, 
as  if  to  expand  forever  the  expectations  of  her  dis- 
ciples, and  impress  us  with  the  joyful  faith  that  her 
practical  redemption  was  for  the  multitudes  of 
men. 

In  the  case  of  the  converts  of  Pentecost  we  are 
struck  first  with  the  suddenness  of  their  conviction, 


126  THE  TONGUE   OF  FIRE. 

then  with  the  sharpness  of  it,  and  then  with  the 
permanence  of  the  result. 

When  the  humble  fisherman  began  to  preach, 
many  who  had  witnessed  the  miracle  were  mock> 
ing ;  none  had  become  saints  ;  perhaps  not  a  man 
in  the  crowd  believed  in  the  mediation  of  Christ,  or 
in  any  other  of  the  great  doctrines  of  the  Gospel. 
They  were  adverse — not  to  say  dogged,  and  on 
system,  enemies.  His  words  were  strangely  edged : 
a  sword  went  through  the  very  souls  of  these  men 
— a  sword  which  told  to  the  consciousness,  that  He 
who  wielded  it  was  the  Unseen  and  the  Almighty. 
As  if  the  whole  of  life  were  recalled,  as  if  eternity 
had  pressed  itself  with  all  its  weight  into  one  mo- 
ment ;  processes  of  thought  that  would  have  re- 
quired long,  long  meditation,  and  yet  longer  de- 
scription, flashed  and  reflashed  across  the  soul;  and 
the  man  found  himself  a  sinner  in  the  midst  of  his 
own  sins,  accused  by  the  past,  menaced  by  the  fu- 
ture, overwhelmed,  confounded,  discovered,  and 
unable  to  wrestle  against  the  one  thought,  "What 
must  I  do  to  be  saved  ?" 

The  sharpness  of  this  conviction  is  equally  amaz- 
ing with  its  suddenness.  Why  could  not  the  men 
control  themselves  ?  Why  not  go  to  their  homes 
und  think?  Why  not  take  time  to  deliberate? 
Why  not  avoid  exposure  to  the  public  eye  ?  Why, 
but  because,  woundecl  to  the  very  quick,  they  for- 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING  THE   BAPTISM   OF   FIRE.       127 

got  all  other  considerations,  and  wanted  to  be  heal- 
ed ?  They  saw,  they  felt  themselves  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  God ;  and,  for  the  moment,  the  eye,  the 
voice,  the  opinion  of  man  was  shut  out  from  their 
thoughts. 

If  a  man  really  saw  an  angel,  or  one  "  risen  from 
the  dead,"  we  should  expect  that  all  consideration 
of  bystanders  would  forsake  him  in  the  awe  of  the 
moment.  And  so,  if  in  an  instant  a  supernatural 
power  opens  the  unseen  world  to  the  soul,  with  its 
one  eternal  Light,  its  heaven  and  its  hell,  although 
the  view  of  these  must  be  imperfect  and  confused, 
yet  if  it  is  a  view^  a  sudden  view,  it  must  shoot  fear, 
wonder,  awe,  through  and  through  the  soul,  till 
man  and  man's  opinion  are  as  little  thought  of,  as 
fashion  by  a  woman  fallen  into  a  steamer's  foaming 
wake. 

We  find  those  who  were  affected  by  these  sudden 
impressions,  going  on  and  on,  month  after  month, 
sustaining  in  the  ordinary  walks  of  life  the  profes- 
sion of  saints,  walking  worthy,  not  only  of  them- 
selves, not  only  of  their  teachers,  but  even  of  the 
Lord,  leading  such  a  life  that  "  He  that  sanctifieth, 
and  they  which  are  sanctified,  are  all  of  one :  for 
which  cause  He  is  not  ashamed  to  call  them  breth- 
ren." This  stedfastness  in  purity  and  piety,  "  in  the 
Apostles'  doctrine  and  fellowship,  and  in  breaking 
of  bread,  and  in  prayers,"  in  liberality  such  as  no 


128  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

community  had  ever  practiced,  in  "gladness  and 
singleness  of  heart,  praising  God,  and  having  favor 
with  all  the  people ;"  shows  that  the  fountains  of 
life  had  been  sweetened,  the  depths  of  the  soul 
reached ;  that,  in  a  word,  nature  had  been  touched, 
changed,  renewed. 

The  permanence  of  the  change  shows  that  it  is 
one  of  nature ;  its  suddenness,  that  it  is  effected  by 
supernatural  means.  Indeed,  natural  means  can 
never  change  a  nature,  though  they  may  greatly 
modify  its  manifestations.  When  we  want  to  pro- 
duce any  moral  impression  on  human  nature  that 
shall  be  permanent,  we  trust  to  slow  and  lengthen- 
ed training.  To  turn  a  man  from  his  ways,  to  turn 
him  against  his  own  interests,  to  lead  him  to  place 
all  he  holds  dear  in  continual  jeopardy,  purely  for 
the  sake  of  goodness  here  and  happiness  hereafter, 
is  what,  in  any  natural  scheme,  we  must  attempt  by 
beginning  early  and  by  laboring  long.  But  if  we  are 
to  depend  not  on  natural  processes,  but  on  the 
power  of  God,  then  time  ceases  to  be  a  matter  of 
account;  the  Infinite  One  declares  His  presence  by 
accomplishing  in  a  moment  that  upon  which  we  had 
gladly  spent  a  life.  Whatever  reasons  may  be  ad- 
vanced in  favor  of  gradual  awakenings  rather  than 
sudden  ones,  this  at  least  stands  on  the  other  side, 
that  the  sudden  conversion  conveys  to  all  bystand- 
ers a  much  more  striking  impression  of  a  power 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING   THE   BAPTISM    OF   FIRE.       129 

above  that  of  man.  What  is  gradual  may  be  read- 
ily ascribed,  by  the  ignorant  or  the  unbelieving,  to 
the  natural  results  of  human  processes.  They  may 
say,  "  The  wonder  would  be  if,  with  so  much  teach- 
ing, so  many  homilies,  directed  to  the  one  end  of 
bringing  man  to  consideration  for  his  soul,  he  was  not 
gradually  brought  to  it-."  But  when,  by  some  sin- 
gle, and,  perhaps,  simple  message,  the  work  of  con- 
version is  done  in  an  instant,  it  looks  like  the  raising 
of  the  dead.  As  to  bystanding  sinners,  it  first  stirs 
their  wonder,  then  moves  their  conscience  ;  and  if 
they  see  such  cases  multiplied,  the  feeling  falls  upon 
them  —  "  It  is  the  mighty  power  of  God  !" 

Christianity  was  established  by  the  creation  of 
Christians. 

In  the  words,  "  Continued  steadfast  in  the  Apos- 
tles' doctrine  and  fellowship,  and  in  breaking  of 
bread,  and  in  prayers,"  we  see  the  effect  of  the  re- 
generation of  individuals  pn  the  character  of  a  com- 
munity. From  a  number  of  good  men  at  once 
arose  a  united  and  fraternal  society.  Statesmen 
and  philanthropists,  occupied  with  the  idea  of  form- 
ing happy  nations,  frequently  look  to  good  institu- 
tions as  the  means  of  doing  so  ;  but  find  that  when 
institutions  are  more  than  a  certain  distance  in  ad- 
vance of  the  people,  instead  of  being  a  blessing, 
they  become  a  snare  and  a  confusion.  The  reason 


130  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

of  this  is  obvious :  good  institutions  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent pre-suppose  a  good  people.  Where  the  degree 
of  goodness  existing  in  the  people  does  not,  in  some 
measure,  correspond  with  that  pre-supposed  in  the 
institutions,  the  latter  can  never  be  sustained.  As 
the  organ,  embodiment,  and  conservators  of  indivi- 
dual goodness,  the  value  of  good  institutions  is  in- 
calculable ;  and  he  is  one  of  man's  greatest  benefac- 
tors, who  makes  any  improvement  in  the  joinings 
and  bearings  of  the  social  machine  ;  but  as  a  means 
of  regeneration,  political  instruments  are  impotent. 
Good  institutions  given  to  a  depraved  and  unprin- 
cipled people,  end  in  bringing  that  which  is  good 
into  disrepute.  In  fact,  it  would  be  more  correct 
to  say,  that  institutions  which  are  good  for  a  people 
of  good  principles,  are  bad  for  a  people  destitute  of 
principle.  The  only  way  to  the  effectual  regenera- 
tion of  society  is  the  regeneration  of  individuals ; 
make  the  tree  good,  and  the  fruit  will  be  good ; 
make  good  men,  and  you  will  easily  found  and  sus- 
tain good  institutions.  Here  is  the  fault  of  states- 
men— they  forget  the  heart  of  the  individual. 

On  the  other  hand,  have  not  those  who  see  and 
feel  the  importance  of  first  seeking  the  regeneration 
of  individuals,  too  often  insufficiently  studied  the 
application  of  Christianity  to  social  evils  ?  When 
the  result  of  Christian  teaching  long  addressed  to  a 
people  has  raised  the  tone  of  conscience,  when  a 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING  THE   BAPTISM    OF   FIRE.      1^1 

large  number  of  persons  embodying  true  Chris- 
tianity in  their  own  lives  are  diffused  among  all 
ranks,  a  foundation  is  laid  for  social  advancement ; 
but  it  does  not  follow  that,  by  spontaneous  develop- 
ment, the  principles  implanted  in  the  minds  of  the 
people  make  to  themselves  the  most  fitting  and 
Christian  embodiment.  Fearful  social  evils  may 
co-exist  with  a  state  of  society  wherein  many  are 
holy,  and  all  have  a  large  amount  of  Christian  light. 
The  most  disgusting  slave-system,  base  usages 
fostering  intemperance,  alienation  of  class  from 
class  in  feeling  and  interest,  systematic  frauds  in 
commerce,  neglect  of  workmen  by  masters,  neglect 
of  children  by  their  own  parents,  whole  classes 
living  by  sin,  usages  checking  marriage  and  encour- 
aging licentiousness,  human  dwellings  which  make 
the  idea  of  home  odious,  and  the  existence  of  mod- 
esty impossible,  are  but  specimens  of  the  evils  which 
may  be  left  age  after  age,  cursing  a  people  among 
whom  Christianity  is  the  recognized  standard  of  so- 
ciety, To  be  indifferent  to  these  things  is  as  un- 
faithful to  Christian  morals  on  the  one  hand,  as 
hoping  to  remedy  them  without  spreading  practical 
holiness  among  individuals,  is  astray  from  truth  on 
the  other. 

The  most  dangerous  perversion  of  the  Gospel, 
viewed  as  affecting  individuals,  is,  when  it  is  looked 
upon  as  a  salvation  for  the  soul  after  it  leaves  the 


132  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

body,  but  no  salvation  from  sin  while  here.  The 
most  dangerous  perversion  of  it,  viewed  as  affect- 
ing the  community,  is,  when  it  is  looked  upon  as  a 
means  of  forming  a  holy  community  in  the  world  to 
come,  but  never  in  this.  Nothing  short  of  the  gen- 
eral renewal  of  society  ought  to  satisfy  any  soldier 
of  Christ ;  and  all  who  aim  at  that  triumph  should 
draw  much  inspiration  from  the  KING'S  own  words : 
"All  power  is  given  unto  Me  in  heaven  and  in 
earth."  Much  as  Satan  glories  in  his  power  over 
an  individual,  how  much  greater  must  be  his  glory- 
ing over  a  nation  embodying,  in  its  laws  and  usages, 
disobedience  to  God,  wrong  to  man,  and  contamina- 
tion to  morals !  To  destroy  all  national  holds  of  evil, 
to  root  sin  out  of  institutions,  to  hold  up  to  view 
the  Gospel  ideal  of  a  righteous  nation,  to  confront 
all  unwholesome  public  usages  with  mild,  genial, 
and  ardent  advocacy  of  what  is  purer,  is  one  of  the 
first  duties  of  those  whose  position  or  mode  of 
thought  gives  them  an  influence  on  general  ques- 
tions. In  so  doing  they  are  at  once  glorifying  the 
Redeemer — by  displaying  the  benignity  of  His  in- 
fluence over  human  society — and  removing  hinder- 
ances  to  individual  conversion,  some  of  which  act 
by  direct  incentive  to  vice,  others  by  upholding  a 
state  of  things  the  acknowledged  basis  of  which 
is,  "Forget  God." 

Satan  might  be  content  to  let  Christianity  turn 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING   THE   BAPTISM    OF   FIRE.      133 

over  the  sub-soil,  if  he  is  in  perpetuity  to  sow  the 
surface  with  thorns  and  briers ;  but  the  Gospel  is 
come  to  renew  the  face  of  the  earth.  Among  the 
wheat,  the  tares,  barely  distinguishable  from  it,  may 
be  permitted  to  grow  to  the  last :  but  the  field  is 
to  be  wheat,  not  tares;  wheat,  not  briers;  a  fair, 
fenced,  plowed,  sowed,  and  fruitful  field,  albeit 
weeds,  resembling  the  crop,  be  interspersed. 

The  same  words,  "The  Apostles'  doctrine  and 
fellowship,  and  breaking  of  bread,  and  prayers,"  in- 
dicate the  various  exercises  of  religion,  in  which  all 
Churches  and  individual  Christians  ought  to  "  con- 
tinue stedfast."  It  was  not  a  "  preaching  Church," 
or  a  "praying  Church,"  the  one  in  opposition  to  the 
other:  they  had  both  "doctrine,"  teaching,  and 
"  prayers."  The  idea  of  separating  these  two,  or 
of  setting  the  one  up  above  the  other,  is  foreign  to 
the  religion  of  the  New  Testament.  They  are  no 
ministers  sent  of  God  who  have  not  the  gift  of 
being  "apt  to  teach."  They  may  be  good  and 
useful  men ;  but  the  proof  that  any  one  never  was 
designed  by  the  Head  of  all  for  a  certain  position, 
is,  that  He  never  qualified  him  for  it.  All  the  au- 
thorities in  the  universe  can  not  make  him  an  em- 
bassador  for  Christ,  to  whom  Christ  Himself  haa 
given  no  power  to  beseech  men  to  be  reconciled  to 
God,  no  power  to  warn  every  man,  and  teach  every 


134  THE  TONGUE    OF   FIRE. 

man,  that  he  may  present  every  man  perfect.  The 
pretense  of  a  Christianity  without  ministers,  served 
by  a  priesthood  who  can  manipulate,  read  prayers 
that  others  wrote,  organize  solemnities,  and  keep 
times  and  seasons,  but  who  can  not  "  rightly  divide 
the  word  of  truth ;"  can  not  "  preach  the  Gospel 
with  demonstration  of  the  Spirit,  and  with  power ;" 
can  not  do  any  thing  but  what  the  most  senseless, 
or  the  most  wicked,  of  men  could  do,  if  drilled  to 
it;  is  one  of  those  marvels  of  imposition  before 
which  we  are  at  once  abashed  and  indignant — in- 
dignant that,  with  the  New  Testament  still  living, 
men  dare  palm  this  upon  us  for  Christianity ;  and 
abashed,  that  human  nature  is  ready  to  accept  such 
a  travesty. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  gift  of  teaching  was  not 
exercised  to  the  exclusion,  or  even  to  the  repres- 
sion, of  that  of  prayer.  The  disciples  did  not 
come  together  only  when  some  one  was  prepared 
with  a  deep  and  weighty  discourse  on  points  of 
essential  doctrine.  Prayer  was  one  of  their  habit- 
ual exercises ;  not  merely  hearkening  to  the  soli- 
tary prayer  of  one  gifted  preacher,  in  the  great 
congregation,  before  or  after  his  sermon  ;  but  pray- 
ers in  frequent  and  familiar  fellowship,  prayers 
prompted  then  and  there,  without  book,  and  with- 
out study;  prayers  of  private  disciples  who  had 
no  higher  gift,  but  who  could  pour  out  their  re 


EYFECTS   FOLLOWING   THE   BAPTISM    OF   FIRE.     135 

guests  to  God ;  prayers  by  men  with  provincial 
speech,  and  all  the  marks  of  being  "  unlearned 
and  ignorant ;"  but  also  with  clear  signs  that 
the  Spirit  was  helping  their  infirmities,  and  teach- 
ing them  what  they  should  pray  for  as  they 
ought.  v 

Suppose  that  Peter  had  some  day  stood  up,  and 
said,  "  Brethren,  all  things  must  be  done  in  order. 
The  use  of  vulgar  tones  and  uneducated  language 
is  unseemly.  Henceforth  none  shall  pray  in  our 
assemblies  but  those  who  can  do  so  without  expos- 
ing us  to  the  ridicule  of  the  respectable.  Indeed, 
to  secure  propriety,  we  have  prepared  proper 
forms,  and  all  our  future  praying  shall  be  from 
these  Litanies  and  Collects  written  here,  the  lan- 
guage of  which  is  the  most  beautiful  of  human 
compositions,  and  may,  indeed,  be  called  fault- 
less." 

Would  not  this  have  altered  the  history  of  the 
primitive  Church  ?  Were  not  prayers,  simple,  un- 
premeditated, united ;  prayers  of  the  well-taught 
Apostle  ;  prayers  of  the  accomplished  scholar  ; 
prayers  of  the  rough  but  fervent  peasant ;  prayers 
of  the  new  but  zealous  convert ;  prayers  which  im- 
portuned and  wrestled  with  an  instant  and  irrepress- 
ible urgency ; — were  they  not  an  essential  part  of 
that  religion,  which  holy  fire  had  kindled,  and  whicli 
daily  supplications  alone  could  fan  ? 


136  THE  TONGUE    OF   FIRE. 

Surely  no  Church  can  be  entitled  to  call  herself 
a  praying  Church  because,  by  a  trained  priesthood, 
she  often  reads  old  and  admirable  forms  of  prayer. 
Against  such  forms,  suitably  mingled  with  the  pub- 
lic services  of  the  Church,  we  mean  to  say  no  word : 
we,-  use,  admire,  and  enjoy  them :  but,  with  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles  open,  it  is  impossible  to  re- 
press astonishment,  that  any  man  should  imagine 
that  frequent  and  formal  reading  of  the  best  forms 
ever  written,  unmixed  even  by  one  outburst  of 
spontaneous  supplication  from  Minister  or  people, 
has  any  pretense  to  be  looked  on  as  the  interceding 
grace,  the  gift  of  supplication  bestowed  upon  the 
primitive  Church.  That  in  such  modes  holy  and 
prayerful  hearts  may  and  do  pour  themselves  out  to 
God,  we  not  only  concede,  but  would  maintain 
against  all  who  questioned  it.  That  such  prayers 
are  in  many  ways  preferable  to  the  one  set  prayer 
of  one  dry  man,  long,  stiff,  and  meager,  wherewith 
congregations  are  often  visited,  is  too  plain  to  need 
acknowledgment. 

But  gifts  of  prayer  are  part  of  the  work  and 
prerogative  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  are  of  the  very 
essence  of  a  Church ;  and  to  deliberately  shut  the 
door  against  them,  or  so  to  frame  ecclesiastical  ar- 
rangements that  they  are  practically  buried  except 
when  possessed  by  the  Minister,  the  well-educated, 
or  the  influential,  is  a  plain  departure  from  apostolio 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING   THE  BAPTISM    OF   FIRE.     137 

Christianity.  In  no  form  is  the  tongue  of  fire  more 
impressive,  more  calculated  to  convince  men  that  a 
power  above  nature  is  working,  than  when  poor 
men,  who  could  no  more  preach  than  they  could 
fly,  and  could  not  suitably  frame  a  paragraph  on 
any  secular  topic,  lift  up  a  reverent  voice,  amid  a 
few  fellow-Christians,  and  in  strains  of  earnest  trust, 
perhaps  of  glorious  emotion,  and  even  of  sublime 
conception  as  to  things  Divine,  plead  in  prayer  with 
their  Redeemer.  The  Pentecostal  Christianity  was 
not  framed  on  the  ideal  of  an  accomplished  circle  ; 
but  on  that  of  a  Church,  a  Church  including  learned 
and  unlearned,  the  refined  and  the  rustic,  the 
honored  Evangelist,  Prophet,  or  Apostle,  and  the 
humble  member  without  public  gifts ;  but  all  re- 
joicing as  members  of  one  brotherhood,  and  each, 
in  fitting  time  and  mode,  taking  his  share  accord- 
ing to  his  gifts  in  the  active  work  of  mutual  edifi- 
cation. A  Church,  to  be  apostolic,  must  have 
Ministers  powerful  in  preaching,  and  members 
mighty  in  prayer. 

They  continued  stedfast  "in  breaking  of  bread;" 
hence  it  is  plain,  that  it  was  not  a  purely  spiritual 
system  of  worship,  too  spiritual  to  stoop  to  our 
Lord's  ordained  symbols,  or  by  the  breaking  of 
bread  to  show  forth  His  death. 

Besides  breaking   of  bread,   and   doctrine,  and 


138  THE  TONGUE    OF   FIRE. 

prayers,  "  fellowship"  is  distinctly  named.  It  was 
then  not  a  Church  where  the  "teaching"  of  the 
Minister  was  taken  for  his  fellowship  with  the 
people,  and  their  "breaking  of  bread"  for  their 
fellowship  one  with  another ;  but  where,  in  addi- 
tion to  public  teaching,  sacraments,  and  prayers, 
was  another  beauty  of  primitive  Christianity,  "  fel- 
lowship." Fellowship  is  family-life,  forming  a  circle, 
smaller  or  larger,  to  the  members  of  which  joys, 
sorrows,  interests,  and  undertakings  are  of  common 
concern  and  matter  of  common  conversation.  Be- 
tween the  life  of  man  as  an  individual,  and  as  a 
member  of  a  great  community,  lies  a  vast  region  of 
affections,  which  can  be  filled  up  only  by  family  re- 
lations. In  public,  an  individual  does  not  indulge 
his  affections :  the  greater  the  multitude,  the  more 
is  the  heart  in  privacy.  The  citizen  who  stands 
honorably  with  the  public,  and  yet  has  no  wife, 
child,  or  friend,  to  partake  of  his  life,  is  lonely :  his 
place  in  the  town  council,  or  the  national  legislature, 
may  be  filled,  and  all  the  relations  therein  involved 
well  sustained  to  him  by  others ;  but  he  lives  with- 
out fellowship :  if  from  bereavement,  men  compas- 
sionate him ;  if  from  choice,  they  turn  cold  at  the 
thought  of  him. 

It  would  have  been  strange,  had  a  Church  meant 
for  man,  in  all  his  aspects,  individual,  domestic, 
national,  left  the  space  between  the  individual  and 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING  THE   BAPTISM    OF   FIRE.       139 

the  public  unoccupied ;  so  that  Christian  life  must 
have  been  divided  into  secret  and  solitary  inter- 
course with  God,  and  public  solemnities,  wherein 
each  was  a  stranger  to  each ;  no  family  life,  no 
circles  of  interwoven  hearts,  no  unbosoming  of  joys, 
sorrows,  and  cares,  no  communication  "  one  to  an- 
other" as  to  the  soul's  health  or  progress.  Had 
such  a  cardinal  omission  been  traceable  in  Chris- 
tianity, it  might  have  raised  many  a  question  as  to 
how  the  tenderest  elements  of  our  nature — the 
social  ones — had  been  disregarded  in  forming  a 
bond  designed  to  unite  all  men  in  one  loving  bro- 
therhood. 

But  the  spiritual  life  of  the  primitive  Church  is 
redolent  of  family  feeling.  You  have  not  there  the 
solemn  and  solitary  man,  who  has  things  passing 
between  himself  and  his  Creator,  of  which  he  never 
breathes  a  word,  though  he  will  take  his  place  in 
public  assemblies,  where  his  own  heart  is  as  effect- 
ually concealed  as  if  he  were  in  a  desert ;  who  re- 
gards any  approach  toward  fellowship  of  spirit  as 
an  inroad  on  privacy;  any  inquiry  for  his  soul's 
health  as  a  stranger's  intermeddling ;  any  opening 
of  hearts  as  weakness ;  who  can  live  his  religious 
life  alone,  and  loves  to  do  so,  except  when  he  comes 
into  public ;  who  wants  no  friends,  fellow-helpers, 
or  inner  circle  of  companions ;  and,  indeed,  who 
loftily  doubts  whether  sociality  in  religious  life  is  a 


140  THE  TONGUE    OF   FIRE. 

very  good  thing.  That  man  who  can  find  fellow- 
citizens  among  the  children  of  God,  but  not  family 
friends,  may  be  a  very  good  Christian,  but  not  of 
the  primitive  stamp. 

What  a  glow  of  family  heartiness  runs  through 
the  New  Testament !  Instead  of  stiff  souls  always 
either  dressed  for  the  public  eye,  or  shut  up  in 
solitude  ;  you  have  brothers,  sisters,  friends,  lovers, 
who  cling  to  each  other  by  mutual  attraction,  and 
between  whom  the  common  talk  often  runs  on  their 
conversion,  their  conflicts,  and  their  glorious  fore- 
taste of  eternal  joy.  In  writing  to  them,  the 
Apostles  are  manifestly  addressing  persons  to  whom 
one  great  event  has  occurred,  the  surpassing  inter- 
est of  which  keeps  it  in  continual  remembrance. 
Once  they  were  foolish,  dark,  wicked ;  carried  away 
by  evil  passions,  without  God,  and  without  hope. 
But  a  wonderful  change  has  passed  upon  them — a 
deliverance  from  the  power  of  darkness,  and  a 
translation  into  the  kingdom  of  God's  dear  Son  ;  a 
change  as  if  from  being  aliens  to  be  of  the  house- 
hold of  God ;  as  from  darkness  to  light,  as  from  life 
to  death.  To  this  great  salvation,  accomplished  for 
and  in  them,  the  allusions  made  by  their  apostolic 
teachers  are  so  free,  incidental,  and  frequent,  as 
clearly  to  show  that  it  was  a  theme  of  unreserved 
and  joyful  thanksgiving  and  wonder  in  their  com- 
munications with  one  another.  The  dignity  of  the 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING   THE   BAPTISM    OF   FIRE.       141 

apostolic  office  does  not  prevent  frank  and  touch- 
ing allusions  to  personal  conversion  and  to  pre- 
vious character,  as  also  to  present  attainments ; 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  even  the  babe  in  Christ 
is  one  whose  happy  experience  is  matter  of  open 
congratulation  :  "  I  write  unto  you,  little  children, 
because 'your  sins  are  forgiven  you,  for  His  name's 
sake." 

The  incidental  proofs  of  the  spirit  which  animated 
the  first  Christians,  as  to  fellowship  with  one  an- 
other, would  be  perfectly  conclusive  if  they  stood 
alone;  but  some  important  passages  of  the  apostolic 
letters  are  plainly  meant  to  preserve  this  spirit  for- 
ever in  the  Church.  "  Let  the  word  of  Christ  dwell 
in  you  richly  in  all  wisdom;  teaching  and  admonish- 
ing one  another  in  psalms,  and  hymns,  and  spiritual 
songs,  singing  with  grace  in  your  hearts  to  the 
Lord."*  Here  is' an  injunction,  not  to  the  Ministry, 
but  to  ordinary  Christians,  to  be  well  acquainted 
with  the  word  of  God,  with  a  view  to  the  edifica- 
tion of  one  another,  by  teaching  and  admonition  ; 
but  teaching  and  admonition  which,  so  far  from 
having  the  regularity  of  preaching,  may  even  be, 
and  ought  frequently  to  be,  in  "  psalms,  and  hymns, 
and  spiritual  songs."  Such  counsel  could  never  be 
given,  had  a  system  been  adopted  wherein  every 
word  of  teaching  or  admonition  must  fall  from  the 
*  Col.  iii.  16. 


142  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

lips  of  the  Minister.  Throughout  the  New  Testa- 
ment the  system  of  the  Church  is  assumed  to  be 
such  as  to  call  forth  the  gift  of  every  member,  no 
matter  of  what  order  it  might  be ;  and  the  active 
co-operation  of  each  one  is  enjoined  to  promote  the 
edification  of  all.  "  From  whom  [Christ]  the  whole 
body  fitly  joined  together  and  compacted*  by  that 
which  every  joint  supplieth,  according  to  the  effect- 
ual working  in  the  measure  of  every  part,  maketh 
increase  of  the  body  unto  the  edifying  of  itself  in 
love."*  Here  "  every  joint"  is  to  supply  somewhat, 
"  every  part"  to  perform  its  "  effectual  working ;" 
and  by  this  means  the  body  is  to  increase,  "  edify- 
ing itself*'  in  love.  No  system  can  be  made  to  ac- 
cord with  this  passage,  any  more  than  with  the 
general  spirit  of  the  N"ew  Testament,  wherein  the 
pulpit  is  the  sole  provision  for  instruction,  admoni- 
tion, and  exhortation  ;  the  great  bulk  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Church  being  merely  recipients,  each 
living  a  stranger  to  the  spiritual  concerns  of  the 
others,  and  no  "  effectual  working"  of  every  joint 
and  every  part  for  mutual  strengthening  being 
looked  for.  It  is  not  enough  that  arrangements  to 
promote  mutual  edification  be  permitted,  at  the 
discretion  of  individual  Pastors  or  officers :  means 
of  grace,  wherein  fellow-Christians  shall  on  set  pur- 
pose have  "  fellowship"  one  with  another,  "  speak 
*  Eph.  iv.  16. 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING  THE  BAPTISM   OF   FIRE.       143 

often  one  to  another,  exhort  one  another,  confess 
their  faults  one  to  another,"  and  "  pray  one  for  an- 
other," shall  teach  and  "  admonish  one  another  in 
psalms,  and  hymns,  and  spiritual  songs,"  are  not 
dispensable  appendages,  but  of  the  essence  of  a 
Church  of  Christ. 

Some  make  light  of  any  "  teaching"  which  could 
be  gained  by  the  mutual  exercise  of  the  gifts  of 
private  members  of  the  Church — not  always  either 
educated  or  wise — and  think  that  only  well-prepared 
addresses  from  the  pulpit  are  instructive.  The  reg- 
ular ministry  of  the  word  is  undoubtedly  the  prime 
source  of  teaching,  and  on  its  vigor  and  clearness 
the  life  of  all  auxiliary  agency  will  ever  depend ; 
but  those  who  would  reject  the  practical  and  home 
teaching  of  free-hearted  "  fellowship,"  little  consider 
that  to  persons  of  simple  mind,  or  slow  heart — that 
is,  to  the  majority  of  mankind — the  great  problems, 
"  What  must  I  do  to  be  saved  ?  What  is  believing  ? 
Whereby  shall  I  know  that  I  shall  inherit  glory  ? 
Am  I,  or  am  I  not,  deceiving  myself?  How  can  I 
overcome  this  temptation,  the  sorest  that  ever  beset 
a  man  ?  How  can  I  grow  in  grace  ?"  and  such  like, 
have  often  more  light  shed  upon  them  by  the  plain 
statement  of  an  individual  as  to  how  Divine  mercy 
solved  them  in  his  own  case  than  by  any  general 
explanation.  In  practical  religion,  as  in  all  things 
practical,  instruction  is  miserably  incomplete,  even 


144  THE   TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

though  correct  so  far  as  it  goes,  if.  it  does  not  bring 
before  the  student  or  inquirer  actual  examples  of 
the  process  he  hears  described.  A  minister  sur- 
rounded by  bands  of  lively  members,  who  with  glad 
and  single  heart  say  as  the  Psalmist,  "  Come  and 
hear,  all  ye  that  fear  God,  and  I  will  tell  you  what 
He  hath  done  for  my  soul,"  has  at  hand  "  living 
epistles"  which  he  may  send  any  inquirer  to  read, 
has  practical  demonstrations  of  his  pulpit  doctrines, 
by  which  he  may  at  once  convince  and  enlighten 
the  doubter.  One  who  seeks  no  such  auxiliaries, 
who  permits  or  encourages  the  frigid  habit  of  walk- 
ing each  one  with  a  sealed  bosom,  rests  all  his  hopes 
of  success  oil  the  words  of  his  own  lips,  and  that 
without  scriptural  sanction. 

Some  defend  a  plain  departure  from  scriptural 
religion  by  openly  questioning  the  utility  of  Chris- 
tian fellowship.  One  writer  of  note  is  so  bold  as 
to  say  that  the  spiritual  experience  of  believers  is 
"  better  never  spoken  about."  Though  this  senti- 
ment is  completely  alien  to  the  spirit  of  both  Old 
and  New  Testament  piety,  it  is  the  natural  fruit  of 
the  constitution  of  too  many  of  our  Protestant 
Churches.  In  them  the  social  element  of  religion 
has  been  woefully  overlooked.  Provision  is  made 
for  doctrine,  for  prayers,  for  breaking  of  bread ;  but 
none  for  fellowship.  A  Christian  may  be  a  member 
of  a  Church,  and  yet  walk  all  his  way  alone,  no  one 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING  THE  BAPTISM    OF   FIRE.       145 

knowing  or  caring  to  know  of  his  conflicts  or  his 
joys.  If  he  is  tempted,  he  may  stand ;  if  over- 
come, he  may  get  restored ;  if  happy,  he  may  hide 
his  peace  among  his  secrets,  and  ask  no  one  to  re- 
joice with  him ;  if  he  had  lost  his  pearl,  and  has 
found  it  again,  he  may  be  silent,  for  his  neighbors 
are  not  wont  to  be  called  together  to  take  share  in 
another's  cares  and  joys.  There  is  something  fear- 
fully chilling  in  a  state  of  things  of  which  this  is  too 
fair  a  description.  Religion  is  a  life  to  be  lived  in 
fellowship;  a  conflict  to  be  sustained,  not  singly, 
but  in  bands;  a  redemption,  of  which  we  are  to 
impart  the  joy ;  a  hope,  an  anticipation,  of  which 
the  comforts  are  to  be  gladly  told  to  those  who 
"  fear  the  Lord."  We  once  heard  a  contrite  inquirer 
after  spiritual  comfort  say,  "  It  is  ten  years  since  I 
was  received  a  member  of  such  a  Church,  and 
during  all  that  time  no  one  has  ever  said  a  word  to 
me  about  my  soul.5'  And  this  is  the  case  with  tens 
of  thousands  who  are  members  of  Churches  which 
provide  only  for  public  instruction  and  ordinances, 
not  for  the  social  fellowship  of  saints.  It  is  a 
mournful  example  of  the  effect  of  overlooking  any 
one  of  the  essential  features  of  vital  Christianity ; 
and  a  fair  comment  on  the  ungenial  notion  that 
religious  experience  had  better  never  be  spoken 
about. 

How  would  the  Psalms  be  altered,  could  we  re- 
10 


146  THE   TONGUE   OF   FIKE. 

construct  them  on  the  principle  that  all  about  the 
state  of  the  soul,  its  joys,  sorrows,  temptations, 
wanderings,  and  deliverances,  had  better  be  kept 
in  prudent  reserve  from  the  knowledge  of  our 
brethren !  How  would  the  apostolic  letters  lose  in 
dignity,  tenderness,  and  power,  as  well  as  in  instruc- 
tion, could  this  frigid  law  of  isolation  once  stiffen 
them ! 

If  we  turn  from  Religion  in  her  own  person,  as 
viewed  in  holy  writ,  to  look  at  a  reflection  of  her  in 
one  of  the  best  mirrors,  the  "  Pilgrim's  Progress," 
how  would  Bunyan  have  handled  pilgrims  who 
would  stiffly  or  prudently  close  up  their  bosom  ?  A 
Christian,  a  Faithful,  a  Hopeful,  who  had  nothing  to 
say  "  one  to  another,"  as  they  traveled  on,  respect- 
ing the  beginning  of  God's  work  in  their  heart, 
their  escapes,  solaces,  temptations,  and  slips;  a 
Christiana,  a  Mercy,  a  Great-Heart,  an  Honest,  a 
Ready-to-Halt,  who  would  interchange  no  experi- 
ence ;  holy  damsels  and  genial  Gaiuses  who  would 
have  no  questions  to  ask  on  such  matters — would 
be  a  set  of  people  whom  Bunyan  would  not  know, 
and  whom,  we  suspect,  he  would  castigate  with 
good  will.  Indeed,  he  has  given  such  some  cutting 
stripes,  as  it  is,  in  the  person  of  Mr.  Talkative, 
who,  though  fluent  on  doctrines  and  such  points, 
was  very  reserved  on  experimental  religion.  Faith- 
ful, wishing  to  know  how  he  was  to  bring  him  to  a 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING  THE  BAPTISM   OF   FIRE.       147 

point,  said  to  Christian,  "What  would  you  have 
me  to  do  ?" 

"  Why,  go  to  him,  and  enter  into  some  serious 
discourse  on  the  power  of  religion;  and  ask  him 
plainly,  when  he  has  approved  of  it  (for  that  he 
will),  whether  this  thing  be  set  up  in  his  heart, 
house,  or  conversation  ?" 

Faithful  having  described  how  a  work  of  grace 
"  discovers  itself  when  it  is  in  the  heart  of  a  man," 
puts  the  plain  question,  "Do  you  experience  this 
first  part  of  the  description  of  it  ?" 

Talkative  at  first  began  to  blush,  but,  recovering 
himself,  thus  replied :  "  You  come  now  to  experi- 
ence, to  conscience,  and  God  ;  and  to  appeal  to  Him 
for  justification  of  what  is  spoken.  This  kind  of 
discourse  I  did  not  expect ;  nor  am  I  disposed  to 
give  an  answer  to  such  questions :  because  I  count 
not  myself  bound  thereto,  unless  you  take  upon  you 
to  be  a  catechizer;  and  though  you  should  do  so, 
yet  I  may  refuse  to  make  you  my  judge."  How 
many  professedly  religious  men,  who  think  them- 
selves very  different  people  from  Mr.  Talkative,  and 
in  many  respects  are  so,  would,  nevertheless,  feel 
much  as  he  did,  if  any  Faithful  came  as  abruptly 
close  home  on  the  question  of  personal  experi- 
ence ! 

Banish  from  the  "  Pilgrim's  Progress"  the  social 
element,  the  fellowship  of  hearts,  the  free  recital  of 


148  THE   TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

the  Lord's  dealings  with  each  pilgrim,  and  you 
would  cool  its  interest  down  to  a  point  which, 
doubtless,  would  be  decorous  in  the  eyes  of  some, 
but  would  never  touch  the  many, 

"  But  is  not  what  you  call c  fellowship,'  the  meet- 
ing of  the  lay  members  of  the  Church  for  prayer, 
praise,  and  recital  of  experience,  liable  to  be  abused?" 
Most  certainly;  and  that  in  several  ways.  But 
is  not  preaching  the  Gospel  liable  to  be  abused, 
so  as  to  be  merely  the  means  of  displaying  a  man's 
talent,  or  of  diffusing  error  ?  And  baptism,  so  as 
to  be  put  instead  of  the  "renewing  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  ?"  And  the  Lord's  Supper,  so  as  to  be  put 
instead  of  holy  living  ?  When  we  want  to  learn 
what  is  Christian,  we  never  ask  what  is  incapable 
of  being  abused ;  for  we  should  find  no  answer :  but 
what  accords  with  the  Word  of  God? 

And  it  does  accord  with  the  Word  of  God,  spirit 
and  letter,  that  "  they  who  fear  the  Lord"  should 
"  speak  often  one  to  another  ;"  that  the  forgiven 
and  happy  sinner  should  have  companions  around 
him,  before  whom  he  may  celebrate  the  mercies  of 
his  Redeemer  ;  that  the  weak  should  not  droop  un- 
known, nor  those  whose  love  is  waxing  cold  be  left 
to  grow  cold  unwarned.  A  church  wherein,  from 
the  minister  in  the  pulpit  down,  every  man  in  his 
own  order, "  according  to  the  grace  that  is  given 
to"  him,  is  called  to  exercise  his  gift,  and  every 


EFFECTS   FOLLOWING   THE   BAPTISM    OF   FIRE.       149 

member  to  lend  his  "  effectual  working"  toward  the 
general  life  and  strength ;  wherein  hearts  are  open, 
and  fellowship  is  free ;  can  alone  answer  to  the 
New  Testament  ideal  of  a  Church.  How  much  of 
the  failure  of  the  various  Protestant  Churches  to 
maintain  religion  at  a  high  point  of  vitality  for  any 
great  length  of  time  consecutively,  or  to  diffuse  it 
generally  among  the  nations  which  have  come 
under  their  spiritual  care,  is  to  be  ascribed  to  their 
neglect  of  the  social  element  of  scriptural  piety,  we 
do  not  profess  to  determine.  But  let  those  Churches 
who,  as  to  this  point,  have  been  taught  to  seek  after 
primitive  spirit  and  usage,  faithfully  and  immov- 
ably guard  the  inestimable  treasure  which  has  been 
committed  to  them. 


CHAPTER  V. 

PERMANENT  BENEFITS   RESULTING  TO  THE   CHURCH. 

AMONG  the  permanent  benefits  resulting  from 
Pentecost,  we  can  not  include  the  visible  flame.  Of 
it  we  never  again  find  any  mention  in  the  course  of 
the  apostolical  history ;  it  appears  to  stand  related 
to  the  Christian  dispensation  as  the  fires  of  Sinai  did 
to  the  Mosaic — the  solemn  token  of  supernatural 
power  upon  its  inaugural  day. 

Neither  are  we  warranted  in  looking  upon  the 
"  gift  of  tongues"  as  one  of  the  permanent  privi- 
leges of  the  Church.  Only  twice,  throughout  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles,  do  we  find  any  record  that  it 
accompanied  the  first  introduction  of  Christianity  to 
a  place ;  and  both  these  instances  are  very  peculiar. 
The  first  was  in  the  house  of  Cornelius,  when  Peter, 
preaching  to  his  Italian  auditory,  felt  some  misgiv- 
ing whether  he  might  not  by  possibility  be  doing 
wrong,  should  he  include  them  within  the  fold  of 
the  Church ;  but  he  saw  a  great  change  pass  upon 
the  men  before  him,  and  heard  them  begin  to  speak 


PERMANENT   BENEFITS   TO    THE    CHURCH.          151 

with  other  tongues,  and  thus  saw  that,  as  to  them- 
selves at  the  first,  the  Lord  had  now  given  a  Pente- 
cost to  the  Gentiles.  The  other  case  is  that  wherein 
the  disciples  at  Ephesus,  who  had  been  instructed 
in  the  baptism  of  John,  but  had  not  so  much  as 
"  heard  whether  there  was  any  Holy  Ghost,"  receiv- 
ed the  word  at  the  hands  of  Paul,  and  began  to  speak 
with  other  tongues.  These  two  cases  excepted,  we 
never  read  of  this  miraculous  gift  immediately  at- 
tending conversions  effected  under  the  preaching  of 
the  Apostles.  It  would  not  be  just,  from  this  cir- 
cumstance, to  infer  that  these  were  the  only  cases 
in  which  the  gift  was  bestowed ;  but  we  may  at 
least  infer,  that  it  was  not  an  invariable  accompani- 
ment of  the  first  appearance  of  Christianity,  even  in 
the  apostolic  days. 

Considerable  question,  as  to  whether  it  was  de- 
signed to  be  a  permanent  gift  of  the  Church,  is 
raised  by  St.  Peter's  discourse  on  this  particular 
gift,  in  his  letter  to  the  Corinthians.  It  has  been 
already  remarked,  that  he  there  shows  it  to  be  des- 
titute of  any  power  of  edification  for  the  Church, 
and  therefore  not  to  be  a  gift  likely  to  continue, 
where  all  were  convinced  of  the  truth  of  Christian- 
ity. "  Tongues  are  for  a  sign,  not  to  them  that  be- 
lieve, but  to  them  that  believe  not."  The  only 
specific  use  assigned  to  the  miracle  is,  that  it  is  a 
sign  to  them  who  believe  not.  In  any  community, 


152  THE  TONGUE    OF   FLKE. 

then,  in  which  the  whole  population  had  become 
believers,  this  sign  ceased  to  be  called  for. 

It  seems  to  be  frequently  taken  for  granted,  that 
the  chief  value  of  the  gift  of  tongues  was  to  enable 
the  possessors  of  it  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  the  na- 
tives of  countries,  whose  language  they  did  not 
otherwise  understand.  But  this  is  never  set  for- 
ward, in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  as  a  reason  for 
the  gift.  A  solitary  stranger,  possessing  the  gift  of 
tongues,  and  passing  into  a  country,  the  language 
of  which  was  to  him  otherwise  unknown,  would 
have  a  great  advantage  in  that  gift;  but,  as  has 
been  already  noted,  not  the  advantage  of  there- 
by impressing  the  people  of  the  country  with  a 
sense  of  the  miracle — for  they  would  probably  be- 
lieve that  he  had  been  taught  their  tongue — but  of 
ability  at  once  to  proceed  with  his  work  and  mis- 
sion. It  is,  however,  to  be  remarked  that  we  never 
find  this  advantage  quoted  as  one  of  the  results  of 
the  gift.  Except  in  the  case  wherein  the  gift  of 
tongues  was  used  as  a  sign  to  the  disciples,  that  the 
Gentiles  were  admitted  into  the  dispensation  and 
community  of  the  Spirit ;  the  gift  was  no  sign  "  to 
those  who  believe."  Its  one  use  was  "  a  sign"  to 
unbelievers,  and  even  to  them  not  in  ordinary  cir- 
cumstances; for  then  prophecy,  and  not  tongues 
was  the  profitable  gift.  Not  adapted  to  edify  the 
Church,  or  to  bring  ignorant  unbelievers  to  repent- 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    153 

ance,  and  fitted  only  to  be  a  sign  under  exception- 
able circumstances,  this  gift  does  not  seem  clearly 
designed  to  be  either  universal  or  perpetual. 

We  are  not  called  upon  to  say  that  it  will  never 
be  restored  to  the  Church ;  for  that  is  never  said  in 
the  word  of  God ;  nor  should  we  ridicule  or  talk 
disrespectfully  of  the  faith  of  any  Christian  who 
devoutly  expects  its  restoration.  All  we  say  is, 
that  we  have  not  scriptural  ground  to  claim  it  as 
one  of  the  permanent  gifts  of  the  Spirit ;  and  we 
may  add  that,  if  it  ever  return  to  the  Church,  it 
will  be,  not  a  mystification,  but  a  miracle,  a  real 
speaking  with  "  other  tongues,"  not  a  speaking  in 
some  unheard-of,  unknown  tongue. 

Having  premised  thus  far,  we  come  to  the  seri- 
ous question,  whether  the  Christian  Church  derives 
any  advantage  whatever  from  the  dispensation  of 
the  Spirit,  beyond  that  of  looking  back  to  a  glori- 
ous period  of  miracle  and  power  at  her  origin — a 
period  which  she  may  not  regard  as  the  dawn  of  a 
long  and  brightening  day,  but  as  a  wonderful  time 
of  mysteries  and  portents,  which  were  to  have  no 
permanent  place  in  the  Church.  It  may  seem 
strange  thus  plainly  to  put  the  question,  whether 
Christianity  really  has  any  benefits  permanently  re- 
sulting from  Pentecost ;  but  it  is  necessary  to  do  so, 
in  order  honestly  to  meet,  not  so  much  well-digest- 


154  THE  TONGUE    OF   FIRE. 

ed  and  formally  expressed  opinions,  as  a  habit  of 
feeling,  often  prevailing  among  professed  branches 
and  members  of  the  Christian  Church. 

Nothing  is  more  common  than  to  find  the  whole 
system  of  Christianity,  as  an  organization  for  re- 
covering mankind  from  their  sinful  condition, 
spoken  of,  treated,  and  trusted  in,  as  if  it  had 
been  clearly  ascertained  that  it  was  neither  more 
nor  less  than  a  deposit  of  Divine  doctrine  cast  upon 
the  earth,  forsaken  by  the  Divine  Power,  and  left 
to  make  such  way  among  men  as  it  might  by  the 
inherent  force  of  truth,  and  the  permission  of  aus- 
picious circumstances.  Cases  are  stated  in  which 
it  is  taken  for  granted  that  Christianity  can  make 
no  way,  simply  because  natural  difficulties  exist, 
such  as  natural  agency  can  not  in  reason  be  ex- 
pected to  overcome.  Any  thing  like  a  consistent 
counting  upon  a  superior  power  acting  with  the 
truth,  and  making  it  triumph  over  difficulties,  such 
as  on  natural  grounds  are  unconquerable,  is  jauntily 
dealt  with,  as  pertaining  to  those  whose  religion  is 
not  entitled  to  the  veneration  which  Christianity 
has,  by  the  lapse  of  ages,  gained  from  mankind. 

In  every  thing  practice  is  in  danger,  if  theory  be 
falsified  ;  and  after  the  right  theory  has  been  aban- 
doned, the  maintenance  of  right  practice  is  always 
precarious,  and  never  long  continued.  If  it  be  the 
true  theory  of  Christianity,  that  the  living  power 


PERMANENT   BENEFITS   TO   THE   CHURCH.          155 

of  the  Holy  Ghost,  additional  to  pastoral  agency, 
additional  to  Scriptural  truth,  additional  to  every 
doctrine  and  every  ordinance — a  power  by  which 
the  truth  is  applied  and  the  agent  quickened  for  his 
work,  is  not  to  be  expected  as  continually  resident 
and  active  in  the  Church  ;  that  theory  ought  to  be 
clearly  stated  and  formally  recognized  on  the  part 
of  all  Christians.  If  it  be  not  the  true  theory,  we 
should  take  care  that  it  do  not  color  any  of  our 
habits  of  thought. 

A  religion  without  the  Holy  Ghost,  though  it  had 
all  the  ordinances  and  all  the  doctrines  of  the  New 
Testament,  would  certainly  not  be  Christianity. 
In  it  the  presence  and  power  of  the  Spirit  are  ever 
taken  to  be  the  vital  element.  Our  world  without 
its  atmosphere,  though  the  same  globe,  with  the 
same  physical  characteristics,  would  be  another 
world ;  and,  if  inhabited  at  all,  must  be  inhabited 
by  a  race  governed  by  laws  altogether  dissimilar  to 
those  under  which  human  life  is  sustained.  The 
change  from  the  Church  of  the  New  Testament  to 
a  Church  without  the  Holy  Ghost,  would  certainly 
not  be  less  in  its  kind  than  this. 

All  who  seriously  handle  Christianity  must  rec- 
ognize the  presence  of  the  Spirit,  as  an  integral 
part  of  its  system  and  power ;  but  if  this  presence 
is  to  be  in  some  occult  and  inconceivable  manner 
resident  in  an  abstract  Church ;  not  in  the  hearts 


156  THE  TONGUE    OF   FIRE. 

of  individual  believers,  not  in  the  living  temple  of 
animated  bodies  and  sanctified  souls,  but  in  a  holy 
Church  made  up  of  unholy  members,  in  a  sacred 
Ministry  made  up  of  secular  persons,  in  holy  houses 
where  worldly  multitudes  gather,  and  in  holy  books 
which  ungodly  ecclesiastics  handle ;  if  this  is  to  be 
the  presence  of  the  Spirit,  then  the  debate  as  to 
whether  it  is  to  be  expected  in  perpetuity  or  not, 
need  excite  little  interest. 

If  His  presence  is  to  entitle  men  to  promulgate 
new  doctrines  contradictory  to  those  already  re- 
vealed in  His  own  word,  and  even  to  withhold  that 
word  from  the  mass  of  their  fellow-men,  on  the  plea 
of  denying  them  a  deceptive  guide  and  substitut- 
ing an  infallible  one,  then  would  His  presence  be- 
come a  self-contradiction  and  a  danger.  In  none 
of  these  lights  have  we  the  slightest  reason  given 
hi  the  word  of  God  to  expect  the  presence  of  the 
Spirit.  We  hear  not  of  Him  there  as  dwelling  else- 
where than  in  the  bodies  of  believers,  or  ever  yield- 
ing to  future  ages  the  right  to  depart  from  the  ancient 
ways  and  the  clear  revelation  of  the  Son  of  God. 

Neither  do  we  find  the  promise  of  His  presence 
so  given  that  all  action  and  effort  on  the  part  of 
Christians  is  to  be  made  at  every  moment  dependent 
on  each  person's  own  impression  of  the  Spirit's 
movement  within  him. 

But  while  on  the  one  hand,  we  do  not  expect  the 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    157 

permanent  presence  of  the  Spirit  with  the  Church 
in  the  Romish  sense,  or  in  the  sense  maintained  by 
estimable  Christians  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  we 
must,  on  the  other  hand,  maintain,  as  we  have  said, 
that  without  His  presence  and  operation  in  the 
hearts  of  believers,  and  in  Christian  agents,  we  can 
not  have  the  Christian  religion.  We  do  not  expect 
visible  signs  or  miraculous  gifts:  for  these  were 
not  the  substantial  blessing  and  grace  imparted  at 
Pentecost ;  but  were  to  them  only  as  heralds  and 
ushers.  The  real  grace  and  blessing  lay  in  what  we 
have  called  the  spiritual  influence  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
acting  on  the  believer's  heart ;  His  ministerial  influ- 
ence, acting  on  the  Church ;  His  converting  influ- 
ence, acting  on  the  world.  These,  we  contend,  are 
necessary  to  the  identity  of  the  Christian  religion, 
and  were  bestowed  for  all  ages,  and  will  to  the  end 
of  the  world  be  shed  on  those  who  perseveringly 
u  wait"  for  the  baptism  of  fire. 

Whence  arises  a  persuasion  which  we  seldom  find 
formally  stated,  but  constantly  trace  in  the  words 
of  thoughtful  men — that  our  mind  is  cut  off  from 
communion  with  the  Father  Mind,  and,  though  able 
to  draw  knowledge  from  physical  objects  and  from 
the  minds  of  men,  is  without  any  access  to  the 
Source  of  spirit,  or  any  recognizable  lights  from 
Him  ?  On  what  inch  of  ground  in  all  the  realm  of 


158  THE  TOXGUE   OF   FIRE. 

reason  can  we  rest  the  notion,  that  the  Spirit  of 
God  does  not  communicate  actively  and  directly 
with  the  spirit  of  man  ?  Is  it  that  we  are  so  com- 
pletely outcasts  that,  though  without  doubt  capable 
of  being  acted  upon  by  the  Divine  Being  for  Divine 
intents,  He  will  not  touch  subjects  so  mean  ?  This 
would  be  the  death-knell  of  intellect  and  morals ; 
for,  if  thus  cut  off  from  the  Source  of  light,  our 
souls  must  be  lost  in  the  dark  at  last.  The  sense 
of  sin  gives  to  the  conscience  a  feeling  of  banish- 
ment ;  the  only  answer  to  which  lies  in  redemption. 
It  is  vain  to  answer  it  by  mere  reason  ;  for  reason 
offers  no  footing  for  the  feeling,  except  on  ground 
which  revelation  first  discovers,  and  then  bridges 
over  by  the  Cross. 

Is  it  that  our  mental  perceptions  are  all  derived 
through  physical  organs,  and  that,  none  such  exist- 
ing as  channels  between  God  and  the  soul,  no  com- 
munication can  take  place  ?  Few  would  be  so  bold 
as  to  say  this  ;  many  are  bold  enough  to  assume  it. 
What  !  no  communication  but  through  physical 
organs  ?  They  never  explain  communication,  but 
only  increase  the  mystery.  Physical  organs,  it  is 
true,  are  only  acted  upon  from  without,  by  physical 
objects ;  and  all  our  sensations  come  through  such 
organs.  But  they  never  have  sensations.  The 
organ  receives  an  impulse  from  the  light,  the  air,  or 
other  outward  object,  and  transmits  that  impulse  to 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    159 

the  brain,  producing  a  vibration  there  ;  but  what  a 
gulf  between  a  vibration  in  a  brain  and  a  sensation 
of  a  soul,  or  an  idea  of  heaven,  or  an  emotion  of 


It  seems  no  mystery  that  two  men  should  be  able 
to  communicate,  but  a  great  one  that  they  should 
be  able  to  do  so  through  an  iron  wire,  when  they 
are  a  thousand  miles  apart.  One  makes  a  secret 
fire  carry  a  thought  from  his  mind  through  a  wire 
toward  the  mind  of  the  other  ;  a  sensation  is  given, 
and  both  an  idea  and  an  emotion  follow  ;  but  the 
wire  feels  none  of  them.  The  impulse  passes  along 
it  ;  and  the  mind  interprets  that  impulse,  and 
turns  it  into  the  image  of  a  dying  father,  a  new- 
born babe,  a  ruined  fortune,  or  a  Sovereign  saying, 
"  Well  done  !"  All  the  sensation,  perception,  emo- 
tion, lie  within  the  mind,  none  of  them  in  the  wire. 
It  is  just  so  with  organs  ;  they  transmit  impulses, 
but  they  know  nothing,  feel  nothing,  and  explain 
nothing.  The  power  of  communication  is  a  mental 
power.  Spirit  knows,  and  gives  knowledge.  The 
wonder  is  not  that  a  mind  can  impart  its  ideas  to  a 
mind  such  as  itself,  but  that,  being  shut  up  in  a 
silent  chamber  whence  branch  out  wires  incapable 
of  one  thought  or  feeling,  it  can  pour  along  these  a 
vivid  and  changeful  fire  which  conveys  its  feelings 
to  another. 

u  No  man,"  says  Paul,  touching  on  these  things, 


160  THE  TONGUE   OF  FIEE. 

t4  knoweth  the  things  of  a  man,  save  the  spirit  of 
man  which  is  in  him."  To  you  all  minds  are  in- 
visible. True,  the  mind  of  your  neighbor  is  in  all 
respects  the  fellow  of  your  own ;  yet  you  can  not 
tell  what  is  within  it.  It  may  be  forming  plans  for 
your  ruin  or  for  your  good;  but  this  is  beyond 
your  eye,  or  ear,  or  heart's  divining.  Every  man 
dwells  in  the  invisible^  and  often  rejoices  to  look 
out  upon  a  race,  no  one  of  which  can  look  in  upon 
him.  Yet  often er  does  he  rejoice  to  pour  himself 
into  others,  and  multiply  his  own  feelings  in  the 
spirits  around  him.  When  the  invisible  "  spirit 
of  man"  wills  to  make  known  "  the  things  of  the 
man,"  it  has  easy,  though  mysterious,  means  at 
command. 

A  man  is  seated  in  his  chamber,  and  deep  things 
are  passing  in  his  mind.  His  mother  sees  that  he  is 
thinking  ;  but  ask  her  to  tell  his  thoughts,  and  she 
is  at  a  loss.  His  wife  looks  into  his  eye,  and  knows 
that  he  is  feeling ;  but  ask  her  what  is  the  spring 
and  course  of  his  emotion,  and  she  is  in  the  dark. 
His  little  daughter  sees  something  lofty  on  her 
father's  brow,  but  what  it  is  she  knows  not.  Pres- 
ently a  thousand  people  are  before  .him,  and  "  the 
spirit  of  the  man"  is  opening  itself.  A  stream 
of  thought  is  pouring  from  it  ;  thought  which 
ranges  from  the  most  familiar  objects  at  hand,  to 
those  which  are  hidden  in  the  bosom  of  eternity. 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS   TO  THE  CHURCH.         161 

Yet  all  these  thoughts,  mingled  with  suitable  emo- 
tion, pass  straight  from  his  unseen  soul  into  the 
souls  of  the  thousand  people.  How  is  this  accom- 
plished ? 

Between  him  and  them  is  floating  a  something 
which  we  call  "  sound."  The  keenest  eye  can  not 
see  it ;  the  most  delicate  touch,  or  smell,  or  taste, 
can  find  no  trace  of  it.  As  it  is  rushing  upon  the 
ear,  both  eye  and  hand  search  in  vain  for  it.  Yet 
is  it  carrying  invisible  thought,  from  a  soul  invisible, 
by  channels  invisible,  into  the  silent  places  of  many 
souls,  where  the  thoughts  it  raises  are  invisible  to 
the  nearest  neighbor,  till  expressed  in  looks  or 
words.  The  inind  of  the  speaker  pours  a  succes- 
sion of  impulses  through  hidden  chords  to  his 
tongue  and  lips :  these  strike  the  air,  in  which 
the  stroke  makes  a  wave ;  that  strikes  on  the  drum 
of  the  ear,  which  causes  a  quivering  of  a  nerve  be- 
hind, that  a  quivering  of  the  brain ;  and  then  the 
soul  inside  sees  an  image  of  Stephen  dying,  or  Paul 
falling  on  the  high-road,  or  Elijah  ascending,  or 
Jesus  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Father !  What  con- 
nection is  there  between  a  wave  of  air,  a  quiver  of 
the  brain,  and  an  idea  of  heaven  or  hell,  of  sin  or 
holiness  ?  That  the  connection  exists,  is  plain ;  but 
HOW?  Make  it  plain  how  "the  spirit  of  man," 
which  "  knoweth  the  things  of  a  man"  can  reveal 
them  within  other  spirits.  All  we  can  say  is,  God 


162  THE  TONGUE   OF   EIRE. 

has  appointed  a  channel  of  communication,  given  to 
the  spirit  means  of  EXPRESSION,  and  to  its  fellows 
means  of  PERCEPTION. 

With  this  fact  before  us,  illustrated  not  only  in 
the  one  form  just  cited,  but  in  a  thousand  forms 
every  day,  upon  what  pretext  do  we  set  up  a  cry 
of  mystery  as  to  the  communication  of  the  Spirit 
of  God  with  man  ?  Absurdity  can  reach  no  limit 
greater  than  that  of  supposing  that  the  central  intel- 
lect knows  no  avenue  to  all  intellect ;  that  is,  is  de- 
fective in  means  of  expression.  Despair  can  hurl 
humanity  no  lower  than  to  say  that  God,  able  to 
commune  with  it,  enlighten,  renew,  and  impel  it, 
yet  distantly  stands  away.  For,  if  no  communica- 
tion exists,  the  reason  lies  in  Him.  To  say  that  the 
defect  is  not  in  His  power  of  expression,  but  in  our 
power  of  perception,  changes  nothing :  if  He  can 
not  "reveal  the  things  of  God"  to  man,  with 
such  powers  of  perception  as  man  has,  He  can 
not  adapt  the  expression  of  His  own  will  to  our 
state. 

Many  who  shun  the  extreme  of  denying  that  God 
does  hold  communion  with  human  souls,  yet  covei 
the  truth  with  a  soft  but  cold  cloak — a  cloak  of 
snow — by  always  speaking  loudly  of  the  mystery. 
What  is  the  way  of  the  Spirit  ?  How  can  man 
recognize  the  voice,  the  eye,  the  countenance  of 
God  ?  How  is  it  possible  to  feel  His  anger  or  His 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    163 

favor,  His  presence  or  His  withdrawal  ?  Is  it  not  a 
mystery  ? 

Yes,  it  is  a  mystery ;  but  it  is  nothing  more.  A 
mystery  is  a  thing  we  are  most  accustomed  to.  I 
know  no  one  thing  which  I  perfectly  know.  I  know 
ten  thousand  which  are  full  of  mysteries.  The  nail 
of  my  finger  is  a  mystery ;  the  fact  is  manifest,  the 
mode  un disco verable ;  about  my  hand  I  can  ask 
more  questions  than  all  mankind  can  answer ;  wrist, 
arm,  shoulder,  all  have  mysteries ;  as  I  approach  the 
heart,  the  brain,  what  crowds  of  questions  rise  and 
are  checked  by  the  known  impossibility  of  an  an- 
swer !  If  "  the  way  of  the  Spirit"  were  capable  of 
perfect  explanation,  the  whole  universe  would  be  a 
riddle ;  for  why  should  that  which  was  so  high  be 
fully  known,  and  every  common  thing  under  our 
eye  contain  mysteries  ?  The  mystery  involved  in 
the  Lord's  communicating  with  any  of  His  creatures 
is  far  less  than  that  of  our  communicating  one  with 
another.  He  is  of  infinite  intelligence ;  He  planted 
the  ear ;  He  gave  man  speech :  for  Him,  therefore, 
to  communicate  with  any  spirit  existing,  must  be 
easier  than  for  the  sun  to  shine. 

"  Eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  have 
entered  into  the  heart  of  man  the  things  which  God 
hath  prepared  for  them  that  love  Him."  The  Apos- 
tle does  not  say  this  of  Heaven :  he  is  not  even  al- 
luding to  it;  for  it  is  "the  glory  that  is  to  be  re- 


164  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

vealed;"  whereas  he  says  of  the  "good  things" 
here  in  view,  "  God  hath  revealed  them  unto  us  by 
His  Spirit."  These  good  things,  then,  are  not 
teachings,  for  of  them  eye,  ear,  and  mind  take  cog- 
nizance; nor  Heaven,  for  it  is  not  yet  revealed; 
but  those  blessings  which  "  are  prepared"  for  those 
who  come  at  the  Lord's  call — pardon,  adoption,  and 
the  favor  of  God.  Anticipating  the  inquiry,  "  How 
can  those  things  be  ?  How  can  acts  of  mercy, 
which  pass  in  the  invisible  world,  be  revealed  to 
us?"  the  Apostle  gives  this  simple  illustration: 
"  What  man  knoweth  the  things  of  a  man,  save  the 
spirit  of  man  that  is  in  him  ?  Even  so  the  things 
of  God  knoweth  no  man,  save  the  Spirit."  If  the 
things  of  God  are  beyond  our  eye,  ear,  or  discern- 
ment, so  are  those  of  a  man :  and  if  man  can  make 
his  mind  known,  how  much  more  the  All- wise! 
"  Now  we  have  not  received  the  spirit  that  is  of  the 
world,  but  the  Spirit  that  is  of  God,  that  we  might 
fcnow  the  things  that  are  freely  given  to  us  of  God." 
Adoption  is  an  act  seen  by  no  man ;  and  were  no 
communication  of  it  made  to  him  in  whose  favor  it 
hath  passed,  he  could  never  by  his  senses  or  reason 
discover  it.  Though  adopted,  he  would  lie  in  the 
spirit  of  bondage.  But  that  we  may  not  be  ignor- 
ant on  this  essential  change  hi  our  relation  to  our 
heavenly  Father,  not  ignorant  of  the  things  which 
His  grace  has  bestowed,  He  has  provided  a  Com- 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    165 

forter,  whose  benign  work  it  is  to  solace  our  hearts  by 
letting  us  "  know"  what  the  Lord  hath  done  for  us. 

The  belief  that  God  does  not  commune  with  man, 
is  no  result  of  reason.  Reason  has  no  footing  for  it. 
It  is,  indeed,  hardly  a  belief;  it  is  a  feeling,  followed 
by  a  sort  of  half-seen  mental  conclusion.  A  boy, 
conscious  of  deserving  his  father's  anger,  somehow 
thinks  he  will  not  be  received  at  home.  Men,  con- 
scious that  they  are  aliens  from  God,  recoil  from  the 
thought  that  the  very  breast,  wherein  they  have 
caged  things  unclean,  may  be  a  shrine  of  His  pres- 
ence. A  feeling  of  moral  improbability,  of  unfit- 
ness,  leads  the  mind  to  shrink  from  such  a  hope. 
Hope,  indeed,  it  does  not  seem  at  first ;  the  boy 
forgets  the  hopefulness  of  standing  by  his  father's 
side  in  the  dread  of  coming  under  his  eye  ;  forgets 
the  joy  of  regaining  his  favor  in  the  heat  of  enmity 
to  his  rule  and  restraints. 

A  natural  difficulty  to  the  Creator's  communion 
with  His  rational  creatures  never  existed.  A  moral 
one  did ;  and  never  was  problem  so  deep  as,  How 
could  the  Holy  One  take  the  impure  to  His  arms, 
and  yet  continue  the  Holy  One  ?  That  problem 
has  been  solved.  The  Holy  meets  the  unholy  over 
the  blood  of  atonement.  There  is  death  for  evil- 
doing,  wrath  against  iniquity — yet  mercy  for  the 
repenting.  Sin  is  not  encouraged,  innocence  is  not 
confounded  with  guilt,  and  yet  the  fallen  are  lifted 


166  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIEE. 

up.  This  moral  difficulty  being  met,  and  no  natural 
one  ever  having  existed,  did  the  Lord  not  commune 
with  the  soul  of  man  as  with  His  own  "  offspring," 
the  only  reason  must  be  that  He  pleased  to  cut  him 
off  from  such  fellowship.  To  affirm  this  would  be 
to  run  into  downright  opposition  to  the  whole  scope 
of  revelation. 

Not  a  few  of  those  who,  if  formally  expressing 
their  belief,  would  maintain  that  the  Spirit  is  to 
abide  with  the  Church  in  all  ages ;  that  the  idea  of 
impossibility  in  His  communing  with  man  is  absurd, 
and  the  cry  of  mystery  unmeaning ;  nevertheless, 
in  practice,  effectually  shut  out  His  agency  from 
their  own  view,  and  that  of  those  who  may  be  under 
their  influence,  by  continually  speaking  of  the  truth, 
the  truth  only,  as  the  power  to  renew  this  sinful 
world.  Far  be  it  from  us  to  undervalue  holy  truth, 
and  above  all,  that  truth  which  flows  untainted 
from  the  fount  of  inspiration ;  but  a  truth,  even 
when  Divine,  is  never  more  than  a  declaration  of 
what  is.  It  is  not  the  power  which  renews  the 
human  soul,  but  the  instrument  of  that  power ;  not 
the  electric  current,  but  the  conductor  along  which 
the  current  flows.  It  is  necessary,  as  necessary  as 
the  metal  wire  to  the  telegraph ;  but,  alone,  it  is  as 
inefficient  as  the  wire  when  the  hidden  power  does 
not  pervade  it. 


PERMANENT   BENEFITS   TO   THE   CHURCH.          16? 

You  may  teach  a  man  the  holiest  truths,  and  yet 
leave  him  a  wretched  man.  Many  who  learn  in 
childhood  that  "  GOD  is  LOVE,"  live  disregarding,  and 
die  blaspheming,  God.  Thousands  who  are  carefully 
taught,  "Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  ami 
thou  shalt  be  saved,"  neglect  so  great  salvation  all 
their  days.  Some  of  the  most  wicked  and  misera- 
ble beings  that  walk  the  earth  are  men  into  whose 
conscience,  when  yet  youthful  and  unsophisticated, 
the  truth  was  carefully  instilled.  Did  the  mere 
truth  suffice  to  renew,  there  are  towns,  districts,  ay, 
countries,  where  all  would  be  saints. 

Unmindful  of  this,  and  not  considering  the  dan- 
ger of  diverting  faith  from  the  power  to  the  instru- 
ment, however  beautiful  and  perfect  the  instrument 
may  be,  many  good  men,  by  a  culpable  inadvert- 
ence, constantly  speak  as  if  the  truth  had  an  inher- 
ent ascendancy  over  man,  and  would  certainly  pre- 
vail when  justly  presented.  We  have  heard  this 
done  till  we  have  been  ready  to  ask,  "  Do  they  take 
men  for  angels,  that  mere  truth  is  to  captivate  them 
so  certainly?"  ay,  and  even  to  ask,  "Have  they 
ever  heard  whether  there  be  any  Holy  Ghost  ?" 

On  one  occasion  it  was  our  lot  to  hear  a  preacher 
of  name,  preaching  before  a  great  Missionary  Soci- 
ety, from  the  text,  "  I  am  come  to  send  fire  upon 
earth."  Choosing  to  interpret  the  fire  referred  to 
in  this  passage  as  the  power  which  would  purify 


168  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

and  renew  the  earth,  he  at  once  declared  the  trutl 
to  be  that  power,  and  most  consistently  pursued  hi? 
theme,  without  ever  glancing  at  any  thing  but  the 
instrument.  Afterward,  hearing  the  merits  of  the 
sermon  discussed  by  some  of  the  most  eminent  min- 
isters of  his  own  denomination,  and  finding  no  allu- 
sion to  its  theology,  we  asked,  "  Did  you  not  remark 
any  theological  defect  ?"  "No  one  remarked  any,  till 
the  minister  of  some  obscure  country  congregation 
broke  silence,  for  the  first  time,  by  saying,  "  Yes ; 
there  was  not  one  word  in  it  about  the  Holy 
Spirit." 

The  belief  that  truth  is  mighty,  and  by  reason  of 
its  might  must  prevail,  is  equally  fallacious  in  the 
abstract,  as  it  is  opposed  to  the  facts  of  human 
history,  and  to  the  Word  of  God.  We  should 
take  the  maxim,  that  truth  must  prevail,  as  per- 
fectly sound,  did  you  only  give  us  a  community  of 
angels  on  whom  to  try  the  truth.  With  every  in- 
tellect clear,  and  every  heart  upright,  doubtless 
truth  would  soon  be  discerned,  and,  when  dis- 
cerned, cordially  embraced.  But  truth,  in  descend- 
ing among  us,  does  not  come  among  friends.  The 
human  heart  offers  ground  whereon  it  meets  error 
at  an  immeasurable  disadvantage.  Passions,  habits, 
interests,  ay,  nature  itself,  lean  to  the  side  of  error; 
and  though  the  judgment  may  assent  to  the  truth, 
which,  however,  is  not  always  the  case,  still  error 


. 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    169 


y  gain  a  conquest  only  the  more  notable  because 
of  this  impediment.  Truth  is  mighty  in  pure  natures, 
error  in  depraved  ones. 

Those  who  compliment  Truth  upon  her  might 
have  need  of  much  self-possession.  "What  world  do 
they  dwell  in,  that  they  can  utter  such  flattery 
under  the  gaze  of  her  clear  and  sober  eye  ?  What 
are  these  nations  yet  neglecting  commercial  and 
political  truth,  though  all  their  interests  invite  them 
to  embrace  it  ?  What  these  "  enlightened"  popula- 
tions that  have  had  religious  truth  again  and  again 
held  up  in  their  view,  but  have  angrily  rejected  it, 
though  to  the  entailing  upon  themselves  innumer- 
able social  disadvantages  ?  Where  is  the  town 
where  truth  always  prevails,  or  the  village  where 
error  wins  no  victories  ?  Do  they  who  know  human 
nature  best,  when  they  have  a  political  object  to 
carry,  trust  most  of  all  to  the  power  of  truth  over  a 
constituency  ?  or  would  they  not  have  far  more  con- 
fidence in  corruption  and  revelry  ?  The  whole  his- 
tory of  man  is  a  melancholy  reproof  to  those  who 
mouth  about  the  mightiness  of  truth.  "  But,"  they 
say,  "truth  will  prevail  in  the  long  run."  Yes, 
blessed  be  God,  it  will ;  but  not  because  of  its  own 
power  over  human  nature,  but  because  the  Spirit 
will  be  poured  out  from  on  high,  opening  the  blind 
eyes,  and  unstopping  the  deaf  ears. 

The  sacred  writings,  while  ever  leading  us  to  re- 


170  THE   TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

gard  the  truth  as  the  one  instrument  of  the  sinner's 
conversion  and  the  believer's  sanctification,  are  very 
far  from  proclaiming  its  power  over  human  nature, 
merely  because  it  is  truth.  On  the  contrary,  they 
often  show  us  that  this  very  fact  will  enlist  the  pas- 
sions of  mankind  against  it,  and  awaken  enmity  in- 
stead of  approbation.  "We  are  ever  pointed  beyond 
the  truth,  to  Him  who  is  the  Source  and  Giver  of 
truth  ;  and,  though  we  had  Apostles  to  deliver  the 
Gospel,  are  ever  led  not  to  deem  it  enough  that  it 
should  be  "  in  word  only,  but  in  demonstration  of 
the  Spirit  and  in  power." 

We  well  know  that  many  who  speak  of  the  truth 
as  accomplishing  all,  do  not  mean  the  truth  without 
the  Spirit  to  apply  it ;  but  what  is  meant  ought  to  be 
said.  Hold  fast  the  truth  as  an  instrument  divinely 
adapted  and  altogether  necessary ;  but,  in  magnify- 
ing the  instrument,  never  forget  or  pass  by  the 
agent.  The  Spirit  in  the  truth,  in  the  preacher,  in 
the  hearer  ;  the  Spirit  first,  the  Spirit  last,  ought  to 
be  remembered,  trusted  in,  exalted,  and  not  set 
aside  for  any  more  captivating  name.  There  should 
never  be  even  the  distant  appearance  of  wishing  to 
avoid  avowing  a  belief  in  the  supernatural,  or  to  re- 
duce Christianity  to  a  system  capable,  at  all  points, 
of  metaphysical  analysis.  If  no  supernatural  power 
is  expected  to  attend  the  Gospel,  its  promulgation 
is  both  insincere  and  futile. 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    1*?! 

In  their  reluctance  to  acknowledge  any 'super- 
natural element  in  religion,  many  take  refuge  in  the 
idea  that,  after  all,  we  are  not  to  expect  what  the 
primitive  Christians  enjoyed.  If  this  means  that  we 
are  not  to  expect  miracles,  to  it  we  have  no  possible 
objection.  If  it  means  that  we  are  to  expect  ICSB 
grace,  we  can  give  it  no  kind  of  credit.  Nothing 
can  be  more  contrary  to  the  whole  spirit  and  genius 
of  revealed  religion,  than  that  the  progress  of  years 
and  events  should  be  coupled  with  a  diminishing 
amount  of  Divine  life  and  grace  among  men.  All 
things  promise  us  progress,  not  retrogression.  No 
principle  of  Christianity,  and  no  passage  of  the 
Christian  Scriptures,  warrant  the  expectation  that 
the  system  is  to  decline  with  age,  and  to  grow  dim 
before  its  day  ends.  The  mode  of  thinking  to 
which  we  now  refer,  seems  to  be  closely  connected 
with  the  favorite  idea  of  unbelief  in  the  world — that 
of  the  Almighty  "  leaving,"  as  men  express  it,  one 
and  another  province  of  His  territories  to  the  care 
of  secondary  principles  and  powers. 

Limited  as  the  human  mind  is,  the  idea  of  com- 
bining attention  to  the  general  and  to  the  particular 
always  presents  to  it  an  extreme  difficulty.  In  its 
own  experience,  when  taking  a  general  view,  it  nec- 
essarily overlooks  particulars ;  when  minutely  at- 
tending to  particulars,  it  necessarily  overlooks  gen- 
erals. Unconsciously  transferring  the  idea  of  its 


172  THE   TONOTJE   OF   FIRE. 

own  limitation  to  the  Supreme  Power,  it  would 
ease  Him  of  the  incomprehensible  task  of  at  once 
minutely  caring  for  every  atom,  and  gloriously 
ruling  the  universe.  But  in  the  presence  of  the 
universal,  the  distinction  between  the  particular 
and  the  general  fades  away.  Artificial  lights  either 
shine  in  one  particular  apartment,  leaving  the  street 
dim,  or  shine  upon  the  street  generally,  leaving 
each  particular  apartment  of  the  houses  dim.  But 
when  the  Universal  Light  arises,  he  knows  no  dis- 
tinction between  general  illumination  and  particular. 
Every  little  casement  in  the  world  is  equally  lighted 
as  the  broad  valley  of  the  Ganges,  and  every  soli- 
tary daisy  as  well  shone  upon  as  if  there  was  no 
other  thing  upon  earth  to  lighten. 

"  He  leaves,  He  leaves,  He  creates  and  leaves, 
leaves  to  the  course  of  nature,  leaves  to  general 
laws."  Such  is  the  crude  language  we  continually 
hear  from  men  who  would  transfer  the  small  ideas 
of  human  sense  to  the  infinite  sphere  of  the  God- 
head. The  idea  of  the  Omnipresent  leaving,  for- 
saking any  part  of  His  own  dominions,  putting  a 
limit  to  Himself,  creating  in  fact  the  most  incom- 
prehensible of  all  incomprehensible  things,  a  place 
where  there  was  not  a  Creator — the  idea  of  His 
presence  being  an  effort,  or  His  embrace  and  super- 
intendence of  nature  being  a  task,  is  unworthy  even 


fc-ENEFITS   TO   THE   CHUECH.          173 

of  the  dignity  of  physical  science,  much  more  of 
the  sweep  of  human  thoughts. 

On  the  wings  of  the  wind — on  the  universal  flow 
of  electric  power — on  the  swift  sunbeams,  filling  up 
with  a  finite  infinity  the  whole  expanse  of  the  solar 
system  at  once — on  the  light  of  a  fixed  star  present 
with  our  eye,  and  at  the  same  moment  present 
through  space  inconceivably  immense  at  every 
point  from  our  eye  to  the  star,  and  then  away 
as  far  beyond,  and  round  and  round  again  at  all 
conceivable  points  of  the  circumference  on  every 
side — on  these  confessedly  finite  objects  our  thought 
may  rest,  and  rise  step  by  step,  till  it  easily  springs 
to  the  idea  of  a  complete  and  consistent  Infinite,  a 
presence  literally  everywhere,  a  power  constant  as 
eternity,  an  activity  to  which  inaction  would  be  ef- 
fort, an  eye  to  which  attention  is  but  nature,  and 
slumber  would  be  an  interruption  of  repose. 

Those  who  would  exclude  the  Divine  Being  from 
His  own  universe,  have  been  often  exclaimed 
against,  and  justly ;  but  how  much  more  may  they 
be  exclaimed  against  who  would  exclude  Hun  from 
His  own  Church,  and  from  communion  with  His 
children  ?  Had  His  power  been  exhausted  by  the 
act  of  creating  and  establishing  the  Church,  and 
then  had  he  committed  its  future  course  to  the  de- 
velopment of  natural  laws  and  the  inherent  power 
of  the  truth,  Himself  retiring  from  all  action  in  the 


174  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIKE. 

great  battle  whereupon  He  had  set  His  servants, 
we  might  reasonably  look  upon  Christianity  as  a 
religion  which,  perhaps,  was  better  than  others, 
more  serviceable  to  the  social  interests  of  those 
Avho  embrace  it,  and  more  genial  in  its  influence 
upon  the  destiny  of  mankind ;  but  higher  motives 
than  these  for  its  propagation,  or  greater  strength 
for  the  men  who  undertake  the  task,  could  not  be 
calculated  on.  So  far,  however,  from  this  being 
the  case,  the  express  promise  with  regard  to  the 
Spirit  was,  "  He  shall  abide  with  you  forever ;"  and 
when  about  to  leave  the  disciples  as  to  his  bodily 
presence,  the  Saviour  said,  "And,  lo,  I  am  with 
you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world."  A 
presence  this,  better  than  a  bodily  presence;  a 
presence  by  His  Spirit  and  His  power,  whereby  the 
souls  of  his  children  are  made  glad,  and  their 
hearts  made  strong,  not  in  some  solitary  village  of 
Galilee  for  the  evening,  but  at  the  same  hour  all 
over  the  earth,  wherever  two  or  three  are  gathered 
together  in  His  name.  That  presence  will  never  be 
withdrawn  while  there  is  a  believer  whose  heart 
embraces  the  promise ;  and  such  believers  will  not 
fail  while  the  world  stands.  So  far  from  any  thing 
in  Scripture  countenancing  the  idea  that  Christians 
of  all  subsequent  ages  were  to  be  deprived  of  that 
Divine  help  which  constituted  the  strength  and 
holiness  of  the  primitive  disciples,  we  have  no  inti- 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    175 

mation  that  they  were  to  be  even  inferior  in  spirit- 
ual attainments.  On  the  contrary,  every  thing 
countenances  the  expectation  that,  as  generation 
succeeds  generation,  the  influence  of  holy  faith  and 
holy  example  will  steadily  tend  to  the  elevation  of 
the  standard. 

As  Christianity  makes  progress  among  a  popula- 
tion, every  new  household  which  becomes  imbued 
with  it  is  an  additional  power  toward  elevating  the 
standard  of  character  in  that  neighborhood.  It  is 
impossible  to  calculate  the  influence  exerted,  even 
in  a  country  like  our  own,  where  religion  has  yet  so 
much  to  do,  upon  those  who  are  still  ungodly.  In 
many  points  their  consciences  have  been  trained, 
by  force  of  example  and  precept,  to  a  tenderness 
and  activity  which  Christian  doctrine  alone  could 
give ;  and,  as  age  after  age  rolls  on,  and  the  pro- 
portion between  the  saints  and  sinners  becomes 
altered,  the  latter  diminishing,  the  former  growing, 
the  image  of  God  in  man  will  be  yet  more  and 
more  brightly  seen,  if  not  more  conspicuously,  in 
some  rare  and  blessed  individuals,  yet  much  more 
generally,  as  a  common  ornament  and  glory  of 
human  nature.  For  a  Christian  now  to  expect  to 
be  made  as  holy  by  the  grace  of  God  as  the  saints 
of  the  New  Testament,  so  far  from  being  presump- 
tion, is  scarcely  a  worthy  measure  of  faith.  It  may 
he  fairly  said  that,  if  we  are  not  better  than  those 


176  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

who  went  before  us,  we  are  not  so  good ;  for  tne 
very  light  of  their  example  sheds  upon  us  an  influ- 
ence to  which  nothing  corresponding  was  shed  upon 
them,  and  thereby  gives  us  a  clear  advantage,  by 
which,  with  a  similar  measure  of  grace,  we  ought 
to  present  a  character  more  complete. 

Were  it  once  proved  that  our  moral  strength  in 
the  present  day  was  natural,  then,  indeed,  might 
we  reasonably  limit  our  expectations,  but  not  to 
partial  attainments  and  incomplete  holiness ;  for  on 
that  ground  the  reasonable  limitation  would  bef 
not,  "  We  shall  attain  to  much,  though  not  as  much 
as  the  early  Christians,"  but,  "  We  shall  attain  to 
nothing."  Our  Lord's  word  is  not,  "  Without  Me 
ye  can  do  little^  but,  "Without  Me  ye  can  do 
nothing."  If  it  then  be  settled  that  in  this  age,  as 
in  the  first,  our  strength  is  not  of  nature,  but  of 
the  Lord,  the  reasonable  range  of  our  expectation, 
now  as  then,  is  to  be  measured  by  His  glorious 
power.  The  question  no  longer  is,  Of  what  are  we 
capable  in  ourselves,  or  by  ourselves  ?  but,  What 
can  He  perform  ?  and  to  what  extent  can  He  mani- 
fest forth  His  glory  by  making  us  monuments  of 
His  power,  and  mirrors  to  display  His  image  ? 
That  grace  of  His  which  was  shed  so  plentifully  on 
the  believers  of  the  first  days,  is  not  an  intermittent 
radiance,  like  the  flash  of  a  human  eye,  but  is 
steady  as  the  glory  which  streams  from  the  face 


PERMANENT   BENEFITS   TO   THE   CHUKCH.          177 

of  the  sun.  Waning  or  exhaustion  it  does  not 
know;  and  from  age  to  age,  from  generation  to 
generation,  His  saints  will  grow  more  and  more 
mature,  human  life  will  increasingly  reflect  the 
glory  of  the  Lord,  and  display  His  power  to  make 
weak  mortals,  beset  with  temptation,  meet  to  be 
partakers  of  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  light, 

Some  who  gladly  admit  that  the  Church,  gene- 
rally, may  advance  in  Christian  virtues,  yet  hesitate 
to  believe  that  individual  Christians  in  our  day  are 
to  enjoy  the  same  comforts  of  the  Spirit  as  were  so 
conspicuous  in  the  primitive  Christians.  Among 
these  latter  nothing  is  more  noticeable  than  filial 
confidence  and  joy:  their  reconciliation  to  the  Lord, 
their  interest  in  the  death  and  intercession  of  Christ, 
their  consciousness  of  regeneration,  of  deliverance 
from  sins  once  reigning  over  them,  their  clear  fore- 
taste of  heaven,  and  their  peace  in  the  prospect  of 
death,  shine  throughout  the  New  Testament,  and 
all  the  early  records  of  the  Church.  This  was  the 
natural  "  fruit  of  the  Spirit,"  the  natural  effect  of 
such  a  Comforter  as  the  Redeemer  had  promised 
dwelling  in  the  heart.  Take  this  characteristic 
away,  and  they  would  at  once  fall  from  the  level 
of  "children  of  light,"  of  "heirs  of  God  and  joint 
heirs  with  Christ,"  down  to  that  of  the  votaries  of 

other  religions,   among  whom  personal   "  joy   in 
12 


178  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

God,"  and  prospects  of  immortal  bliss,  are  things 
unknown. 

As  we  said  before,  that  a  religion  without  the 
Holy  Spirit  would  not  be  Christianity,  so  we  may 
say,  that  religionists  without  the  Spirit  in  their 
hearts  would  not  be  Christians.  "Ye  are  in  the 
Spirit,  if  so  be  that  the  Spirit  of  God  dwell  in  you. 
Now  if  any  man  have  not  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  he 
Is  none  of  His."  It  requires  much  of  that  cold 
daring  which  men  may  acquire  as  to  things  spirit- 
ual, for  any  one  who  even  respects,  though  he 
should  not  study,  the  record  of  Christianity  at  its 
source,  to  teach  that  it  is  not  a  common  privilege 
of  believers  to  enjoy  a  sense  of  their  salvation,  and 
to  walk  in  the  light  of  God's  forgiving  countenance, 
i^o  scrap  of  holy  writ  even  seems  to  favor  this  at- 
tempt to  sink  modern  Christians  to  a  point  almost 
infinitely  below  that  of  ancient  ones ;  for  who  can 
measure  the  distance  between  a  soul  which  is  sing- 
ing, "  We  know  that  we  have  passed  from  death 
unto  life,"  and  one  that  is  saying,  "  I  can  not  hope 
to  know,  till  death  strikes  me,  whether  or  not  I 
shall  escape  dying  forever  ?" 

A  change  more  serious  can  hardly  be  imagined 
in  the  relations  of  the  Lord  to  His  people,  than 
\vould  take  place  under  the  Christian  dispensation, 
if,  beginning  by  enabling  believers  to  say,  "We 
have  a  building  of  God,  a  house  not  made  with 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    179 

hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens,"  He  ended  by  leaving 
them  in  utter  doubt  as  to  their  future  destiny ;  if, 
beginning  by  giving  them  a  sense  of  His  favor, 
clear  as  day,  unspeakably  joyful,  He  ended  by  leav- 
ing them  to  serve  Him  throughout  life,  without 
ever  feeling  conscious  that  He  smiled  upon  them  ; 
if,  beginning  by  holding  communion  with  them,  He 
ended  by  leaving  them  to  doubt  whether  He  was 
even  reconciled.  It  is  trifling  at  once  with  a  man's 
common  sense,  and  with  his  most  sacred  hopes  and 
fears,  to  tell  him  that  he  is  called  with  the  same 
calling  as  the  early  believers,  by  the  voice  of  the 
same  Redeemer,  under  the  same  covenant  of  grace, 
and  with  the  same  promise  of  adoption ;  but  that, 
while  his  brother,  ages  ago,  had  "  peace  with  God," 
and  "joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory,"  knew 
himself  to  be  a  child  and  then  an  heir  of  God,  and 
daily  felt  that  heaven  was  his  home,  he  is  to  pro- 
ceed on  his  pilgrimage  without  any  of  these  com- 
forts, and  learn  at  the  end  whether  or  not  his  soul 
is  to  perish.  Who  has  given  any  man  the  right 
to  assert  that  such  a  change  has  taken  place  in 
the  relation  of  the  adopting  Father  to  His  adopted 
children,  affirming  Him  to  have  grown,  in  our 
age,  too  indifferent  to  soothe  their  hearts,  and 
make  them  partakers  of  the  joy  which  He  spreads 
among  the  angels  when  He  declares  that  the  "  lost 
is  found  ?" 


180          .  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

The  change  which  the  supposition  we  are  com- 
bating would  require  in  the  office,  or,  at  least,  in 
the  operation,  of  the  Spirit  Himself,  under  the  very 
dispensation  of  the  Spirit,  is  sufficiently  grave,  one 
might  imagine,  to  make  the  least  careful  pause,  ere 
he  assumed  that  it  had  taken  place.  The  act  where- 
in the  everlasting  Father  absolves  a  guilty  being 
from  his  offenses,  and  recognizes  him  before  the 
angels,  as  an  heir  of  His  glory  must  ever  be  of  deep 
importance  in  the  government  of  God.  Of  old  tune, 
when  that  great  act  took  place,  heaven  rejoiced; 
but  the  deed  did  not  remain  without  effect  upon 
earth.  The  KING  had  proclaimed  a  pardon,  and 
that  proclamation  must  have  effect.  The  Comforter 
sped  to  the  mourner's  heart.  "  Where  the  Spirit 
of  the  Lord  is,  there  is  liberty."  With  the  presence 
of  the  Comforter,  the  captive  found  "  deliverance," 
and  he  that  was  bound,  an  "  opening  of  the  prison ;" 
and,  tasting  the  liberty  of  the  children  of  God,  he 
sang,  "  O  Lord,  I  will  praise  Thee  :  though  Thou 
wast  angry  with  me,  Thine  anger  is  turned  away, 
and  Thou  comfortedst  me." 

Are  we,  then,  on  the  word  of  some  men,  without 
one  intimation  of  Scripture  to  support  them,  to  be- 
lieve that  the  Spirit  has  so  essentially  changed  His 
mode. of  dealing  with  a  forgiven  sinner,  that  now 
the  decree  of  pardon  promulged  above,  and  hailed 
by  angels,  receives  no  effect  in  the  soul  of  him 


PERMANENT   BENEFITS   TO   THE   CHUKCH  1M 

whom  it  absolves?  that  the  Comforter  abstains 
from  comforting,  leaving  the  ransomed  captive 
still  to  mourn  his  captivity,  without  relieving 
him  of  his  load  or  of  his  chain  ?  O  DOVE  OF 
PEACE,  ancient  Comforter  of  the  pilgrims  who 
traveled  this  heavenward  road  before  us  !  they  say 
that  Thy  wing  has  grown  weary  with  the  lapse  oi 
time! 

How  great  a  change  would  take  place  also  in  the 
privilege  of  believers !  "  We  are  of  God,"  "  born 
of  God,"  "  heirs  of  God,"  "  followers  of  God,  as 
dear  children,"  "  fellow-citizens  with  the  saints,  and 
of  the  household  of  God;"  "once  darkness,  now 
light  in  the  Lord."  Such  was  the  sense  of  adoption 
enjoyed  in  apostolic  times.  Of  all  the  privileges 
wherewith  the  soul  of  man  ever  has  been  blessed, 
or  ever  can  be  blessed  in  this  life,  by  far  the  most 
consoling  and  elevating  is  the  sense  of  adoption  into 
the  family  of  God.  No  man  can  read  the  New 
Testament,  and  deny  that  this  was  an  ordinary 
characteristic  of  the  believers  then  living,  or  that  it 
was  a  main  element  of  their  strength,  kindling  in 
them  a  joy  which  made  them  ready  to  face  reproach^ 
and  emulate  high  service.  "Where  is  the  intimation 
that  this  privilege  was  to  be  denied  to  Christians  in 
succeeding  ages  ? 

When  Paul  says,  "  But  I  obtained  mercv^  that  in 


182  THE   TOKGUE    OF   FIRE. 

me  first  Jesus  Christ  might  show  forth  all  long- 
suffering,  for  a  pattern  to  them  which  should  here- 
after believe  on  Him  to  life  everlasting,"  does  he 
give  any  intimation  that  the  believers  of  following 
ages,  though  they  should  be  believers  just  as  he, 
and  should  obtain  "  life  everlasting"  just  as  he,  arid 
should  have  his  case  and  his  mercies  before  their 
eyes,  as  "  a  pattern"  whereby  to  measure  their  ex- 
pectations from  Jesus  Christ's  "  long-suffering"  were 
yet  to  lose  an  essential  portion  of  the  believer's 
joy ;  namely,  the  power  of  saying,  "  But  I  obtained 
mercy  ?",  Even  the  Psalmist,  under  a  dispensation 
lower  than  our  own,  could  say,  "  I  said,  I  will  con- 
fess my  transgressions  unto  the  Lord,  and  Thou  for- 
gavest  the  iniquity  of  my  sin."  Does  he  hint  that 
this  is  a  privilege  to  which  only  few  can  attain,  and 
from  which  the  children  of  God,  in  the  better  days 
to  come,  shall  be  ordinarily  debarred  ?  "  For  this 
shall  every  one  that  is  godly  pray  unto  Thee,  in  a 
time  when  Thou  mayest  be  found" — conveying  a 
clear  intimation,  that,  just  as  he,  on  confession  of 
his  sins,  found  forgiveness,  such  forgiveness  as  healed 
the  grief  of  soul  which  he  describes  a  moment  be- 
fore, and  enabled  him  to  sing,  as  he  here  does, 
"  Blessed  is  he  whose  transgression  is  forgiven,"* 
so  would  every  godly-disposed  person  find  an  ac- 
ceptable time,  if  he  prayed  to  the  same  merciful 
*  Psalm  xxxiL 


PERMANENT   BENEFITS   TO    THE   CHURCH.          18o 

Lord  for  like  forgiveness.  No  godly  man,  no  one 
whose  heart  was  seeking  after  God,  in  the  day  of 
David,  could  read  this  without  feeling  that  the 
"  blessedness"  of  absolution  was  held  out  to  him  as 
his  privilege.  Indeed,  all  through  the  Psalms  it  is 
taken  for  granted  that  the  righteous  man  rejoices 
in  his  forgiving  God.  And  does  the  grace  of  our 
blessed  Redeemer  grow  narrower  as  time  advances  ? 
Does  He  gradually  withdraw  the  light  of  His  coun- 
tenance till  upon  us  of  the  latter  days  complete  dark- 
ness settles,  and  we  are  doomed  to  grope  our  way 
through  life's  temptations  without  the  encourage- 
ment of  one  smile  from  Him,  and  at  the  end  to  set  a 
doubtful  foot  on  the  threshold  of  eternity  ? 

The  idea  of  any  such  deterioration  in  the  privi- 
lege of  believers  is  totally  groundless ;  without  one 
prop  in  Scripture  or  in  reason.  It  is  a  structure  of 
ice,  formed  in  cold  seasons,  and  melts  away  when 
brought  either  into  the  sunlight  of  Scripture,  or  the 
warmth  of  living  Christian  society.  We  could  not 
easily  believe  in  any  accession  to  our  privileges,  be- 
yond those  of  our  brethren  in  early  times,  unless  it 
were  clearly  taught  in  the  word  of  God ;  but  if, 
without  Scripture  proof,  we  must  believe  either  in 
an  increase  or  in  a  diminution  of  them,  we  should 
choose  the  former,  as  far  more  supported  by  the 
analogy  of  the  Lord's  dealings  with  men. 

"  PEACE"  was  the  Saviour's  legacy  to  His  follow 


184  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

ers ;  peace  to  be  imparted  by  the  Comforter ;  peace 
which  the  world  can  not  give,  and  which  passeth 
understanding.  He  leaves  no  hint  that  this  legacy 
was  to  be  recalled  before  "  the  end  of  the  world." 
Indeed,  in  both  the  Old  Testament  and  the  New, 
happiness  is  an  essential  part  of  religion ;  that  kind 
of  happiness  which  is  called  "joy  in  God  through 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  The  reigning  of  such  joy 
in  any  human  bosom  clearly  pre-supposes  that  the 
individual  is  satisfied  of  the  reconciliation  of  God 
to  him,  notwithstanding  his  sins.  "Wherever  this  is 
doubtful,  distrust,  fear,  and  gloom  must  ever  accom 
pany  the  contemplation  of  the  Most  High;  and 
this  gloom  would  settle  most  densely  on  the  most 
contrite  spirit.  Happiness  is  to  be  a  feature  of  re- 
ligion to  the  last.  That  odious  caricature  of  Chris- 
tianity, which  offers  to  the  view  of  the  world  a  man 
with  all  the  doctrines  of  the  Gospel  on  his  lips,  but 
gloom  on  his  brow,  disquiet  in  his  eye,  and  sourness 
in  his  bearing,  has  done  infinite  injustice  to  our  be- 
nign religion,  and  infinite  harm  to  those  who  never 
knew  its  worth.  Now,  as  in  the  days  of  Solomon, 
"  her  ways  are  ways  of  pleasantness,  and  all  her 
paths  are  peace."  Now,  as  in  the  days  of  David, 
she  "  puts  gladness  into  the  heart,  more  than  in  the 
time  that  their  corn  and  their  wine  increased." 
Now,  as  in  the  days  of  Paul,  she  gives  "joy  and 
peace  in  believing."  Happiness  is  not  a  separable 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    185 

appendage  of  true  piety ;  it  is  part  of  it,  and  an  es- 
sential part :  "  The  joy  of  the  Lord  is  your  strength." 
Some  would  regard  happiness  as  if  it  were  to  relig- 
ion what  a  fine  complexion  is  to  the  human  coun- 
tenance— a  great  addition  to  its  beauties,  if  present ; 
but  if  not,  no  feature  is  wanting.  In  the  sacred 
writings,  from  first  to  last,  it  is  regarded  as  a  feature, 
which  we  can  not  remove  without  both  wounding 
and  defacing.  The  kingdom  of  God  is  not  only 
"  righteousness,"  but  "  righteousness  and  peace  and 
joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost." 

While  that  kingdom  stands,  this  "joy  in  the  Holy 
Ghost"  will  be  the  privilege  of  the  children  of  God ; 
and  let  no  man  stand  between  the  humblest  believer 
of  this  our  day,  and  the  full  light  of  his  Redeemer's 
countenance.  Let  none  take  it  for  granted,  that  the 
work  of  God  in  the  soul  of  man  has  degenerated  ; 
that  the  merciful  Father  no  more  gladdens  the 
prodigal  He  accepts,  by  letting  him  know  He  loves 
him ;  that  Jesus  no  longer  says,  "  Be  of  good  cheer, 
thy  sins  be  forgiven  thee ;"  or  that  when  a  penitent 
is  accepted  as  a  son,  the  gracious  Comforter  does 
not  now,  as  in  the  old  time,  hasten  on  His  dove-like 
message  to  diffuse  heavenly  peace  in  another  trou- 
bled bosom. 

The  assertion  sometimes  confidently  made,  that 
the  witness  of  the  Spirit  to  our  adoption  is  given  to 
some  believers,  years  after  their  conversion,  as  the 


186  THE  TONGUE    OF   FIRE. 

reward  of  special  holiness,  has  not  even  a  pretext 
of  scriptural  footing.  The  witness  of  the  Spirit,  so 
far  from  being  the  reward  of  sanctification,  is  one 
of  its  chief  springs ;  for  without  love  there  is  no  holi- 
ness, and  we  only  love  because  we  feel  that  God 
first  loved  us.  "Because  ye  are  sons,  God  hath 
sent  forth  the  Spirit  of  His  Son  into  your  hearts, 
crying,  Abba,  Father."  Not  because  you  are  old 
and  eminent  among  the  sons  of  God,  but  because 
you  are  sons :  it  is  not  a  good-service  reward,  but  a 
birthright ;  not  a  crown  of  distinction,  but  a  joy 
of  adoption.  "  In  whom  ye  also  trusted,  after  that 
ye  heard  the  word  of  truth,  the  Gospel  of  your  sal- 
vation; in  whom  after  that  ye  believed,  ye  were 
sealed  with  that  Holy  Spirit  of  promise."  Here  the 
order  is,  "  Ye  heard,  believed,  were  sealed :"  no 
long  period  of  doubt  and  labor  intervenes  between 
the  believing  and  the  sealing.  The  father  of  the 
prodigal  does  not  keep  him  for  years,  working  "  as 
one  of  his  hired  servants,"  before  he  prints  the  fath- 
erly kiss  of  reconciliation  on  his  cheek  and  on  his 
heart. 

The  hackneyed  objection,  that  it  is  presumption 
for  any  one  to  say  that  he  is  a  child  of  God,  takes 
too  much  for  granted.  It  never  is  presumption  to 
acknowledge  what  you  are.  Had  David  never  been 
taken  from  the  sheepcote  and  made  king,  it  would 
nave  been  presumption  in  him  to  say  that  he  had  ; 


PERMANENT   BENEFITS   TO   THE   CHURCH.         187 

but,  when  it  was  the  case,  he  was  in  gratitude 
bound  to  own  and  to  commemorate  the  mercy 
showed  to  him.  So,  if  a  man  has  not  been  delivered 
from  the  dominion  of  sin,  and  adopted  into  the  fam- 
ily of  God,  for  him  to  say  that  such  is  the  case  is 
presumption ;  but  if  he  has,  then  not  to  praise  his 
Redeemer  for  it,  would  be  ingratitude.  Saying  that 
it  is  presumption  for  any  one  to  call  himself  the 
child  of  God,  takes  it  for  granted  that  no  one  is ;  or 
else  it  is  absurd.  Presumption  has  many  forms; 
and  it  is  worth  considering,  whether  a  great  and 
good  Being  would  most  disapprove  the  presumption 
which  expected  too  much  from  His  goodness,  or  the 
presumption  which  dared  positively  to  disbelieve 
His  promise. 

Many  who  readily  admit  that,  to  some  extent  at 
least,  the  Church  in  all  ages  will  enjoy  the  gifts  and 
graces  of  the  Holy  Spirit;  and  who  would  not  deny 
that  the  first  believers  were  favored  with  direct 
manifestations  of  the  favor  of  God,  yet  make  a  diffi- 
culty of  believing  that,  when  sinners  are  forgiven  in 
the  present  age,  they  are  comforted  by  the  Spirit 
manifesting  Himself  in  their  hearts,  and  crying, 
"  Abba,  Father."  They  do  not  deny  that,  even  in 
our  day,  forgiven  sinners  are  solaced  with  a  confi- 
dence that  they  are  forgiven ;  but  they  see  pruden- 
tial reasons  against  admitting  that  this  is  imparted 


188  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

by  the  direct  witness  of  the  Spirit,  and  would  ar 
rive  at  it  by  a  process  which,  however  unwittingly 
on  their  part,  removes  the  office  of  sealing  the 
adopted  children  of  God  from  the  Spirit,  and  gives 
it  to  the  reason  of  man.  They  teach  the  seeker  of 
salvation  that,  instead  of  looking  to  the  Cross  for 
mercy,  till  the  Spirit,  as  the  Comforter,  "  reveals 
the  Son  of  God  in  his  heart ;"  he  is  certainly  to  look 
to  the  Cross,  but  not  to  expect  that  to  bring  any 
such  manifestation ;  on  the  contrary,  he  is  only  to 
learn  what  are  the  marks  of  a  child  of  God,  to  com- 
pare his  life  with  them,  and,  if  it  and  they  agree,  his 
mind  will  arrive  at  the  comfortable  persuasion  that 
he  is  a  child  of  God. 

This  is  one  instance  of  the  common  error  of  taking 
part  of  a  process  for  the  whole.  On  the  part  of  the 
Christian,  the  comparison  of  the  scriptural  marks 
of  the  regenerated  with  his  own  character,  is  not 
only  good,  but  absolutely  necessary ;  for,  no  matter 
what  may  be  his  supposed  comforts,  joys,  or  revela- 
tions, if,  in  his  life,  he  is  not  led  by  the  Spirit  of 
God,  he  is  not  a  son  of  God.  But  because  certain 
evidence  is  essential  as  a  corroboration,  it  does  not 
follow  that  it  is  the  chief  evidence  of  the  fact,  the 
first  ground  of  conviction.  As  a  guard  against  delu- 
sion, a  strengthening  of  our  confidence,  and  a  con- 
stant stimulus  to  press  forward  to  the  things  which 
.,  are  before,  a  sober  judgment  passed  upon  our  own 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    189 

progress  in  grace  is  scriptural,  rational,  and  indis- 
pensable. As  the  mode  of  binding  up  the  broken 
heart  of  a  penitent,  of  imparting  to  him  the  first  feel- 
ing of  filial  confidence  in  the  Lord,  it  is  neither  scrip- 
tural nor  rational.  It  never  can  be  the  original 
ground  of  consciousness  in  any  soul,  that,  through 
the  abundance  of  grace,  I,  even  I,  am  an  adopted 
child  of  God. 

Yet  this  is  the  consciousness  to  be  given,  and 
that  not  to  the  heart  of  one  who  is  "  whole,"  but 
of  one  who  is  "sick;"  not  of  a  man  who  thinks 
that  he  is  good,  who  is  ready  to  interpret  every 
thing  in  his  own  favor,  and  has  no  feeling  that  he  is 
vile,  or  that  the  Lord  is  angry  with  him ;  but  of 
one  who  now  feels  what  probably  he  believed  all 
his  life,  that  he  is  a  sinner,  covered  with  dark  and 
filthy  spots,  the  displeasure  of  the  Lord  hanging 
over  him  for  many  unholy  deeds,  and  his  poor  soul 
both  fitted  for  destruction  and  exposed  to  it.  Un- 
til painfully  sensible  of  his  need  of  Christ,  no  man 
flees  to  Him  for  refuge ;  and  one  in  this  state  of 
feeling  is  soberly  told,  that  his  burden  is  to  be  re- 
moved, and  the  sense  of  his  salvation  to  be  origin- 
ated, by  his  being  satisfied  of  the  agreement  of  his 
own  life  with  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit,  as  stated  in  the 
word  of  God. 

What  are  those  fruits  ?  "Love,  joy,  peace,"  etc., 
AY  "  righteousness  and  peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy 


190  THE  TONGUE    OF   FJKE. 


Ghost."  No  enumeration  of  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit 
will  be  found  which  excludes  peace  and  joy,  much 
less  love;  and  from  these  graces,  if,  indeed,  not 
from  the  last  named  alone,  spring  the  various  fruits 
which  unitedly  constitute  "righteousness."  The 
poor  penitent,  then,  is  not  to  be  first  relieved  of  his 
load,  and  given  to  feel  that  God  loves  him;  but, 
previous  to  obtaining  such  Divine  comfort,  he  is  to 
become  satisfied  that  his  love,  joy,  peace,  and  other 
graces,  are  such  as  to  mark  the  children  of  God ! 
that  is,  while  yet  feeling  that  the  Lord  is  angry 
with  him,  he  is  to  love  the  Lord ;  while  yet  feeling 
that  is  soul  is  unsaved,  he  is  to  feel  joy  in  the  Holy 
Ghost.  If  it  be  said  that  the  feeling  of  the  Lord's 
wrath  and  his  own  danger  is  removed  before  the 
filial  affections  appear,  then  a  direct  action  of  the 
Comforter,  antecedent  to  his  satisfaction  with  his 
own  graces,  is  admitted;  and  if  that  be  denied, 
there  is  no  alternative  but  to  conclude  that,  at  the 
same  time  and  in  the  same  heart,  one  can  both  feel 
that  he  is  under  God's  anger,  and  love  God  as  a 
forgiving  Father ;  can  feel  that  he  is  in  danger  of 
hell,  and  enjoy  spiritual  peace.  If  the  sense  of  wrath 
and  danger  is  removed  before  the  fruits  of  the 
Spirit  appear,  there  is  a  direct  witness  of  the  Spirit 
Himself;  if  not  till  after,  the  totally  incompatible 
states  of  mind  just  mentioned  must  co-exist 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO   THE   CHUKCH.         191 

The  relation  of  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit  to  the  wit- 
ness of  the  Spirit  is  clearly  indicated  to  us.  John 
says,  "We  love  Him  because  He  first  loved  us." 
Here  the  fruit,  "  We  love,"  is  made  consequent  on 
our  sense  of  the  fact,  "He  first  loved  us."  To  say 
that  we  first  know  that  God  loves  us,  because  we 
feel  that  we  love  Him,  is  to  make  the  fruit  of  the 
Spirit  the  foundation  of  the  witness  of  the  Spirit ; 
a  relation  totally  repugnant  to  the  principle  an- 
nounced in  this  text,  and  pervading  the  New  Tes- 
tament, as,  indeed,  also  the  Old.  "  Bless  the  Lord, 
O  my  soul,  and  forget  not  all  His  benefits  ;  who  for- 
giveth  all  thine  iniquities."  The  fact  of  forgiveness 
ascertained  is  the  ground  of  filial  gratitude;  not 
filial  gratitude  the  ground  from  which  the  fact  of 
forgiveness  is  inferred. 

Mental  conclusions,  as  to  spiritual  truths,  do  not 
govern  the  feelings.  The  marks  of  "a  child  of 
wrath"  are  plainly  laid  down.  Thousands  know 
that  they  bear  them ;  and  yet  this  produces  no  con- 
trition or  distress,  till  the  coming  Spirit  pierces 
their  hearts.  As  it  is  with  convincing,  so  would  it 
be  with  comforting.  A  mental  conclusion  as  to  my 
own  spiritual  attainments  would  never  dispel  a  sense 
of  guilt  from  my  conscience,  or  make  my  trembling 
heart  "  rejoice  in  the  Lord."  Did  an  awakened 
sinner  conclude  a  hundred  times  that  the  marks  in 
the  Bible  and  the  traits  in  his  character  agreed,  his 


192  THE   TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

wounded  spirit  having  no  other  balm,  all  this  con- 
cluding would  never  heal  his  sore.  The  same  voice 
which  spoke  condemnation  into  his  conscience, 
must  speak  justification;  the  same  hand  which 
broke  his  hard  heart  must  bind  it  up. 

The  deeper  the  penitence  of  any  one,  the  slower 
would  he  be  to  take  comfort  from  any  good  in 
himself;  therefore,  on  a  theory  which  makes  this  the 
foundation  of  comfort,  the  further  would  he  be 
from  finding  rest;  while,  on  the  more  evangelical 
view,  the  very  depth  of  his  penitence  would  drive 
him  the  more  speedily  to  bring  his  burden  to  the 
Cross,  when  it  would  fall  off. 

This  allusion  brings  Bunyan  and  his  Pilgrim  once 
more  to  our  view.  He  does  not  set  Christian  to 
undo  his  own  burden  by  arguing,  "I  have  fled 
from  the  City  of  Destruction ;  I  have  forsaken 
house  and  friends,  wife  and  children  ;  have  resisted 
temptations  to  return;  have  knocked  at  the  gate 
and  entered  in,  and  am  in  the  narrow  path :"  but, 
with  all  this  done,  he  brings  him  to  "  a  place  some- 
what ascending,"  where  stands  a  cross,  and,  "just 
as  Christian  came  up  with  the  cross,  his  burden 
loosed  from  off  his  shoulders,  and  fell  from  off  his 
back."  He  did  not  cast  off  the  burden  by  a  pro- 
cess which  could  easily  be  explained ;  but,  when  he 
set  his  eye  on  the  cross,  it  fell  off  itself;  and  "  it 
was  very  surprising  to  him  that  the  sight  of  the 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    193 

cross  should  thus  ease  him  of  his  burden."  And  so 
it  is  to  others ;  but,  however  surprising,  do  thou, 
my  penitent  brother,  heed  no  other  direction  than 
that  which  points  thine  eye  straight  to  the  Cross ; 
for  pardon,  for  escape  from  hell,  for  rest,  and  hope, 
and  purity,  look  thither,  thither,  only  thither !  If 
thy  burden  fall  not  at  once,  yet  still  look,  look  to 
the  Cross,  and  fall  it  will,  far  sooner,  and  far  more 
surely,  than  if  thou  attempt  to  untie  it  by  thy  ar- 
guments ! 

As  Christian  thus  stood  before  the  cross,  wonder- 
ing, the  "  THREE  Shining  Ones  came  to  him :  the 
first  said,  4  Thy  sins  be  forgiven  thee ;'  the  second 
stripped  him  of  his  rags,  and  clothed  him  with 
change  of  raiment ;  the  third,  also,  set  a  mark  on 
his  forehead,  and  gave  him  a  roll  with  a  seal  upon 
it,  which  he  bid  him  look  on  as  he  ran,  and  that  he 
should  give  it  in  at  the  celestial  gate." 

This  is  unsophisticated  Christianity.  A  burdened 
sinner,  after  discouragements  and  wanderings,  comes, 
at  last,  to  the  foot  of  the  Cross.  He  looks,  and  is 
healed ;  his  pardon,  freely  given,  is  tenderly  mani- 
feste^  to  him.  The  Father,  Son,  and  Spirit  unite 
to  assure  his  heart,  and  give  him  present  and  abid- 
ing peace.  He  receives  an  evidence  of  acceptance, 
where  he  may  always 

"  Read  his  title  clear . 

To  mansions  in  the  skies." 
13 


194  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

After  this,  the  more  he  "  searches"  his  own  self, 
"and  proves"  his  own  self,  "whether  he  be  in  the 
[kith,"  the  better  for  his  vigilance  and  progress. 
But  no  such  examining  before  would  have  unloosed 
his  burden,  or  given  him  the  roll. 

The  theory  of  an  inferential  comforting  of  be- 
lievers, as  a  substitute  for  the  scriptural  mode  of  a 
"  witness"  of  the  Spirit,  is  singularly  hopeless ;  for, 
at  every  step,  it  is  obliged  to  lean  upon  that  which 
it  professes  to  dispense  with  and  replace.  It  rests 
all  "quietness  and  assurance"  for  penitent  hearts  on 
the  fruits  of  the  Spirit ;  and  the  very  chief  of  those 
fruits,  "  love,"  etc.,  pre-supposes  the  witness  of  the 
Spirit  by  a  necessity  as  clear  as  that  by  which  re 
pentance  pre-supposes  His  convincing  operation. 

"No  ;  the  sealing  and  solacing  of  penitent  be- 
lievers is  not  left  to  mere  reasoning,  especially  with 
a  foundation  so  liable  to  be  misapprehended  as  our 
own  attainments  in  grace.  It  is  the  work  and  office 
of  that  "  other  Comforter"  whom  our  dying  Lord 
promised  ;  and  let  no  man  take  it  out  of  His  hand ! 
He  it  is  who  "  cries"  in  the  heart,  "Abba,  Father !" 
He  who  seals,  He  who  bears  witness,  He  who  sheds 
abroad  the  love  of  God,  He  who  enables  us  to  know 
the  things  that  are  freely  given  to  us  of  God.  Any 
attempts  to  escape  the  mystery  involved  in  the 
Holy  Spirit  revealing  the  iD^rcy  of  God  fa  ^  Jiuman 


PEBMANENT  BENEFITS   TO   THE   CHURCH.         195 

soul  only  leads  to  contradictions  and  perplexities. 
To  the  old  question,  "  How  can  these  things  be  ?" 
the  one  sufficient  answer  is,  "They  are  spiritually 
discerned."  What  the  Lord  spiritually  reveals,  the 
soul  can  spiritually  discern ;  and  a  Divine  presence, 
or  a  Divine  communication,  may  be  assumed  always 
to  carry  its  own  evidence  with  it,  first  to  the  con- 
sciousness, and  then,  by  its  fruits,  to  the  reason. 
"  One  thing  I  know :  whereas  I  was  blind,  now 
I  see." 


It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  many  who  are 
sincere,  and  even  earnest,  pass  the  days  of  their 
pilgrimage  in  gloom,  having  no  roll  in  their  bosom 
which  they  know  can  be  presented  "  at  the  celestial 
gate ;"  no  conscious  title  to  enter  into  the  city ;  no 
permanent  "  joy  or  peace  in  believing."  Nothing  is 
more  dangerous  than  to  divert  the  eye  from  the  one 
object  of  faith.  And  if  persons  are  not  taught  to 
look,  and  look  upon  the  Cross,  until  their  sins  are 
blotted  out,  and  the  comforting  Spirit  Himself  heals 
their  wounds,  but  to  seek  rest  by  noting  their  own 
progress  in  the  Christian  graces,  and  are  at  the 
same  time  left  without  any  fellowship  of  saints, 
through  which  they  might  learn  by  what  steps  of 
fear  and  doubt,  of  despair,  and  hope,  and  faith, 
others,  whose  whole  spirit  savors  of  the  peace  of 
God,  obtained  that  blessing ;  is  it  not  natural  that 


196  THE  TONGUE  OF   FIRE. 

they  should  walk  in  dim  moonlight  instead  of  walk- 
ing in  the  sun?  Yet,  even  amid  those  so  dealt 
with,  the  Lord  oftentimes  breaks  up  man's  theories 
by  converting  a  sinner  with  such  manifestation  of 
the  Spirit  that  it  would  be  equally  impossible  to 
persuade  him  that  his  peace  first  came  by  contem- 
plating his  graces,  and  to  keep  him  from  telling 
what  the  Lord  had  done  for  his  soul. 

The  character  of  the  Christian  Church,  as  a  whole, 
must  always  be  ruled  by  the  character  of  individual 
Christians ;  for  the  Church  is  but  the  assembly  and 
aggregate  of  individuals.  If,  then,  as  the  ages  ad- 
vance, the  individual  Christian  degenerate,  the 
Church  must  gradually  degenerate  also,  her  minis- 
try be  debilitated,  and  her  efforts  upon  the  world 
be  less  fruitful.  All  Christian  character  depends  on 
the  relations  of  the  soul  with  its  Creator :  if  these 
be  cold  instead  of  being  joyous,  if  they  be  gov- 
erned by  the  feeling  of  a  doubtful  reconciliation  in- 
stead of  that  of  a  happy  sonship,  then,  of  necessity, 
the  life  is  overcast  with  the  shadows  of  not  im- 
probable perdition  instead  of  being  sunned  with 
cloudless  hopes  of  glory,  and  service  is  rendered 
as  to  an  austere  Master  instead  of  to  a  most  forgiv- 
ing and  loving  Father.  Strike  from  the  language 
of  the  Christian  the  words,  "  Our  fellowship  is  with 
the  Father  and  the  Son,"  and  at  once  we  have  a 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    197 

race  whose  religion  is  not  the  religion  of  John, 
whose  heart-strength  is  not  drawn  from  the  same 
sources  as  his. 

Whether  it  be  in  comforts,  in  sensible  communion 
with  the  reconciled  Deity,  or  in  practical  sanctifica- 
tion  of  life,  we  contend  that  all  Scripture  holds  out 
to  us  disciples  of  this  actual  hour,  poor  and  unde- 
serving though  we  be,  the  same  sources  and  the 
same  measure  of  grace  as  were  open  to  our  breth- 
ren of  former  times.  There  has  been  no  recall  of 
the  Spirit,  no  curtailing  of  the  "  abundant  pardon," 
no  abridging  of  the  privileges  of  the  adopted.  The 
promise  of  the  Holy  Spirit  was  not  only  to  the  first 
converts ;  but,  as  Peter,  addressing  them,  said,  "  to 
us,  and  to  our  children,  and  to  all  that  are  afar  off, 
even  to  as  many  as  the  Lord  our  God  shall  call." 
However  distant  from  that  spot  in  Jerusalem,  and 
however  distant  from  that  moment  of  time,  the  call 
might  sound,  it  would  carry  with  it  the  PROMISE  ; 
even  that  promise,  the  fulfillment  of  which  made 
the  early  Church  so  holy  and  so  victorious.  The 
flames,  the  tongues,  the  outward  signs,  were  not 
the  saving  grace  of  the  Spirit.  That  was  "  within 
you,"  in  the  soul  of  man,  and  was  shown  in  "  new 
creatures."  That  saving  grace  of  the  Spirit,  work- 
ing in  Christians  now,  constitutes  their  identity  with 
those  of  old.  Without  this,  in  apostolic  times, 
though  one  spoke  with  "  the  tongues  of  angels  and 


198  THE   TONGUE    OF   FIEE. 

of  men,"  and  could  "  work  all  miracles,"  he  was 
not  a  true  disciple.  With  this,  in  our  times,  though 
one  work  no  miracle,  and  speak  not  with  tongues, 
he  is  a  true  disciple ;  for,  "  as  many  as  are  led  by 
the  Spirit  of  God,  they  are  the  sons  of  God." 
Miraculous  gifts  were  not  of  the  essence,  but  sepa- 
rable attendants,  of  a  real  Christian ;  and  all  that 
was  then  essential  remains  to  us,  unimpaired  and 
free  as  ever  it  was  to  them. 

Father,  Son,  and  Spirit !  pardon  the  unbelief 
which  has  imagined  that  Thou  didst  repent  of 
the  exceeding  abundance  of  grace  once  given  to 
Thy  ransomed  Church  !  Afflict  us  not,  on  ac- 
count of  it,  by  a  real  withdrawal  of  Thy  presence ! 
Manifest  forth  Thy  glory  anew,  by  filling  Thy 
children  with  joy  and  light,  that  the  world  may 
see  that  Thine  ancient  love  and  grace  remain  our 
heritage ! 

Next  to  the  question,  whether  the  privileges  of 
the  modern  Christian,  as  respects  grace,  are  to  be 
equal  with  those  of  the  primitive  one,  comes  the 
question,  whether  the  Christian  ministry  is  now  es- 
sentially the  same  institution  as  at  first  ?  If  be- 
lievers are  not  now  the  same  as  formerly,  it  is  im- 
possible that  the  same  religion  should  be  preserved 
in  the  world  ;  and  if  the  Ministers  be  not  the  same, 
it  is  highly  improbable  that  the  ordinary  members 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    1111.) 

of  the  Church  will  be  so.  Few  would  take  the 
ground  that  our  Lord  founded  His  ministry  on 
an  unstable  basis,  requiring  essential  changes  to 
render  it  capable  of  perpetuation  in  any  age  or 
country  to  which  Christianity  might  extend :  and 
all  would  admit  the  high  probability  that  the  prin- 
ciples on  which  He  established  it  were  those  best 
adapted  for  its  success  under  every  future  change 
of  circumstances. 

When  we  look  at  the  example  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, its  spirit,  usages,  and  principles,  it  is  too 
manifest  to  need  more  than  assertion,  that  the 
anointing  of  the  Holy  Spirit  was  the  one  thing  es- 
sential in  the  Minister  of  the  Gospel.  As  we  have 
before  said  that  a  religion  without  the  Holy  Spirit 
would  not  be  Christianity,  and  that  religionists  with- 
out the  Holy  Spirit  would  not  be  Christians,  so  we 
may  strongly  say  that  teachers  without  the  Holy 
Spirit  would  not  be  Christian  Ministers,  according 
to  the  original  sense  of  that  term,  the  only  sense  in 
which  we  find  it  employed  in  the  sacred  writings. 
Every  arrangement  respecting  the  training,  or 
labors,  of  Christian  Ministers,  which  does  not  pro- 
ceed upon  the  ground  that  they  are  certainly  to  be 
men  first  regenerated,  then  gifted  for  the  ministry, 
and  moved  to  it,  by  the  operation  of  the  Holy 
Spirit — an  operation  not  to  be  assumed  without 
proof,  but  to  be  tested  by  its  fruits — must  be  as 


1500  THE  TONGUE   OP   FIRE. 

faulty  in  theory,  and  as  inefficient  in  practice,  as 
any  arrangement  for  the  employment  of  fire-arms, 
which  did  not  proceed  on  the  ground  that  explosion 
is  the  source  of  power.  The  bow  was  a  mighty 
weapon,  and  its  combination  of  steel  and  timber, 
of  cord  and  arm,  of  the  strength  of  the  vegetable, 
the  mineral,  the  animal,  entitled  it  to  the  admira- 
tion and  confidence  of  many  a  host ;  and,  as  all  its 
forces  were  mechanical,  no  question  ever  needed  to 
be  raised  but  one  lying  within  the  limits  of  mecha- 
nical inquiry.  But  the  moment  you  adopt  powder 
as  your  impeller,  the  elasticity  of  yew,  or  the 
strength  of  muscle,  are  considerations  out  of  place. 
You  have  left  mechanics,  and  cast  yourself  upon 
chemistry  ;  and  all  your  calculations  must  pro- 
ceed on  the  ground  that  you  have  but  to  provide 
an  instrument  which  will  co-operate  with  an  ex- 
plosive agent. 

The  New  Testament  ministry  rests  not  011  mental, 
emotional,  or  educational  strength,  but,  using  each 
of  these  as  occasion  may  serve,  finds  its  own  power 
in  a  spiritual  influence ;  and  all  reasoning  applied  to 
it,  without  being  founded  on  this  fact,  is  reasoning 
on  the  rifle  upon  principles  belonging  to  the  bow. 

The  miraculous  gifts  imparted  to  many  in  the 
early  Church  are  carefully  ranked  and  marked  by 
the  hand  of  the  Apostle  as  inferior  to  those  gifts 
which  were  "  for  edification,  and  exhortation,  and 


PERMANENT   BENEFITS   TO   THE   CHURCH.          201 

comfort."  "  And  God  hath  set  some  in  the  Church, 
first  Apostles,  secondarily  Prophets,  thirdly  Teach- 
ers, after  that  miracles,  then  gifts  of  healing,  helps, 
governments,  diversities  of  tongues."*  Here  mira- 
cle-working, healing,  and  speaking  with  divers 
tongues,  are  set  as  inferior  gifts  to  those  whereby 
men  were  constituted  teachers  or  prophets.  A 
similar  design  is  observed  in  Ephesians  iv.  11 : 
"And  he  gave  some,  Apostles ;  and  some,  Prophets; 
and  some,  Evangelists  ;  and  some,  Pastors  and 
Teachers."  Here  we  do  not  find  any  miraculous 
gifts  even  mentioned  as  part  of  the  institution  of 
Christ  "for  the  perfecting  of  the  saints,  for  the 
work  of  the  ministry,  for  the  edifying  of  the  body 
of  Christ :"  to  this — the  true  end  of  the  ministry — 
the  effects  produced  by  miraculous  gifts  were  only 
auxiliary.  True,  the  Apostles,  Prophets,  and  Evan- 
gelists, as,  indeed,  also  the  Pastors  and  Teachers, 
possessed,  and  often  exercised,  miraculous  gifts; 
but  it  was  not  by  these  they  effected  the  "  perfect- 
ing of  the  saints,  the  work  of  the  ministry,  or  the 
edifying  of  the  body  of  Christ."  The  essential 
point  with  regard  to  every  one  proposed  for  the 
sacred  office  is,  to  ascertain  whether  or  not  he  is  "a 
man  sent  of  God." 

As  the  gift  of  the  Spirit  Himself  is  represented 
as  consequent  upon  the  ascension  of  our  Lord,  so, 
*  1  Cor.  xii.  28. 


202  THE  TONGUE    OP   FIRE. 

in  the  passage  in  Ephesians  to  which  we  have  just 
alluded,  the  institution  of  the  ministry  also  is  repre- 
sented as  the  result  of  His  triumphant  ascension. 
"  He.  ascended  up  on  high,  He  led  captivity  captive, 
and  gave  gifts  unto  men ;"  and  "  He  gave  some, 
Apostles ;  and  some,  Prophets,"  etc.  These  were 
the  gifts  which  He,  from  His  throne  of  mediation, 
bestowed  on  His  Church — men  endued  with  power 
by  His  Spirit,  and  also  moved  by  the  same  Spirit  to 
spend  their  lives  in  the  work  of  the  ministry  for  the 
edifying  of  the  body  of  Christ.  Whether  we  take 
the  Prophets  under  the  old  dispensation,  or  the 
Lord's  messengers  under  the  new,  we  find  that  the 
distinctive  characteristics  of  a  true  Minister  of  God 
lay  in  a  call  and  a  qualification.  The  qualification 
involved  a  gift,  a  power,  and  a  training.  He  who 
had  a  call  from  God,  a  gift  from  God,  and  a  power 
from  God,  and  he  only,  was  ever  Prophet,  Evange- 
list, or  Pastor  and  Teacher,  in  any  scriptural  sense. 
The  training  varied  with  the  age,  dispensation,  and 
circumstances ;  but  no  training  ever  did,  or  ever 
can,  make  him  a  Minister  who  has  no  call,  no  gifts, 
and  no  power  sent  upon  his  soul  by  the  anointing 
of  the  eternal  Spirit. 

The  call  pre-supposed  grace,  or  the  moral  qualifi- 
cation, and  implied  a  gift,  or  what  may  be  called  the 
mental  qualification ;  for,  to  call  without  imparting 
a  gift,  would  be  leading  an  unarmed  soldier  into 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    203 

battle ;  and  to  call  and  gift  an  unregenerate  man, 
would  be  to  commission  and  arm  a  rebel :  these 
two,  therefore,  call  and  qualification,  can  never  be 
looked  upon  as  separable.  "The  love  of  Christ 
constraineth  us,"  is  the  language  in  which  the  apos- 
tle expresses  that  which  is  essential  in  the  internal 
working  of  a  call  from  God  to  spend  and  to  be  spent 
for  the  salvation  of  men ;  and  he  who,  thus  con- 
strained by  the  love  of  Christ,  finds  himself  pos- 
sessed of  a  gift  to  speak  to  edification,  or  exhorta- 
tion, or  comfort,  has,  in  that  motion  and  in  that 
faculty,  strong  evidence  that  the  Lord  is  calling 
him  into  His  vineyard.  What  he  feels  is  not  a  mere 
desire  to  enter  the  ministry  as  a  good  and  useful 
office,  or  to  spend  life  in  an  honorable  and  happy 
vocation ;  but  is  a  constraining  movement  of  the 
love  of  Christ,  as  if  issuing  from  His  heart  into  the 
heart  of  His  servant,  and  working  there  a  strong 
impulse  to  cry  out  and  labor  for  the  recovery  of 
Adam's  lost  children  to  the  favor  of  their  God,  and 
the  rest  of  heaven.  But,  however  strongly  this  de- 
sire may  exist,  if  it  be  not  accompanied  with  a  gift 
for  public  teaching,  that  alone  proves  that  the  Lord 
has  not  designed  the  operation  of  His  love  to  con- 
strain this  particular  individual  to  the  public  labors 
of  the  ministry,  but  to  other  efforts  for  the  same 
end.  Him  whom  God  sends  to  any  work,  He  qual- 
ifies for  that  work. 


204  THE  TONGUE    OF   FIRE. 

A  person  feeling  a  true  impulse  to  labor  for 
Christ,  and  misjudging  his  own  gift,  may  conceive 
himself  to  be  called  for  the  ministry  when  he  is  far 
from  being  qualified  for  it ;  and,  on  this  point,  the 
onus  of  judgment  can  not  properly  be  laid  upon 
him,  but  must  rest  upon  the  Church.  He,  and  he 
only,  can  judge  as  to  the  inward  motive  of  his  soul, 
whether  or  not  his  heart  is  moved  by  the  Holy 
Ghost  to  undertake  this  work ;  and  the  fact,  that 
the  responsibility  of  declaring  that  he  believes  him- 
self to  be  so  moved  is  thrown  upon  the  candidate 
for  the  ministry  by  most  Churches,  if  not  by  all,  is  a 
public  and  solemn  testimony  that  the  operation  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  heart  is  recognized  as  con- 
tinuing to  be  the  one  basis  of  qualification  for  the 
ministry  of  the  Gospel.  Only  one's  own  self  can 
tell  what  has  passed  between  the  soul  and  its  Sav- 
iour. No  stranger  intermeddleth  with  the  question 
whether  the  Spirit  has,  or  has  not,  in  holy  prompt- 
ings, moved  one  to  consecrate  his  life  to  the  sole 
work  of  edifying  and  multiplying  the  flock  of 
Christ.  If  any  come  to  offer  his  hand  to  the  Church 
for  this  high  service,  on  his  own  soul  it  lies  to  say 
whether  or  not  he  is  led  by  an  impulse  from  on 
high,  or  by  ordinary  professional  motives. 

The  Church,  nevertheless,  has  her  responsibility ; 
and  before  she  seals  the  credentials  of  any,  she  is 
bound  to  take  note  whether  the  Lord  Himself  has 


PERMANENT   BENEFITS   TO   THE   CHURCH.         205 

sealed  them  by  the  gifts  of  His  Holy  Spirit.  As 
much  as  the  responsibility  lies  on  the  individual  of 
making  or  not  making  a  solemn  profession  that  he 
is  inwardly  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  does  the 
responsibility  lie  upon  the  Church  to  see  that  he 
has  all  the  corroborative  marks  of  such  a  call.  Those 
marks  are  grace,  gifts,  fruit.  Does  his  whole  life 
testify  that  he  has  felt  the  repentance  to  which  he 
is  to  call  sinners,  exercised  the  faith  to  which  he  is 
to  encourage  penitents,  and  experienced,  in  some 
degree,  that  sanctification  to  which  he  is  to  lead  on 
believers  ?  If  the  evidence  of  this  be  not  clear,  the 
Church  sins  a  grievous  sin  in  accrediting  him  to  the 
world  as  one  qualified  to  "warn  every  man,  and 
teach  every  man,  that  he  may  present  every  man 
perfect."  No  circumstance  of  time,  age,  nation,  or 
aught  else,  can  authorize  any  Church  to  dispense 
with  the  essential  qualification  that  he  who  is  to  be 
a  minister  of  God  shall  first  be  a  child  of  God.  Any 
credentials  given  without  full  proof  of  this,  are  pre- 
sumptuous and  null.  When  our  Lord  was  about  to 
restore  to  his  beloved  disciple  Peter  the  commission 
which  his  fall  had  seemed  to  forfeit,  He  puts  to  him 
the  question,  "Lovest  thou  Me  ?"  and  thrice  repeats 
it,  searching  him  to  the  soul ;  and,  on  the  ground 
that  he  does  love  Him,  intrusts  him  anew  with  the 
commission,  "Feed  My  sheep."  No  man  whose 
true  love  to  the  Saviour  is  doubtful,  who  can  not 


206  THE  TONGUE    OF   FIRE. 

,'ippeal  to  Him  who  knoweth  all  things  as  witness 
that  he  does  love  Him,  has  that  qualification  for  £ 
commission  which  is  most  indispensable  of  all — loy 
alty  to  the  King. 

"  The  same  commit  thou  to  faithful  men/ 
"  Who  is  that  faithful  and  wise  steward  whom  the 
Lord  wih1  set  over  His  house,  to  give  to  every  man 
a  portion  of  meat  in  due  season  ?"  In  both  of  these 
passages,  as  all  through  the  Word  of  God,  the  spir- 
itual qualification  is  set  as  a  consideration  anteced 
ent  to  that  of  gifts :  first  of  all  "  faithful ;"  but  not 
merely  "faithful."  "The  same  commit  thou  to 
faithful  men,  who  shall  be  able  to  teach  others  also." 
The  steward  is  to  be  not  only  "  faithful,"  but  "wise," 
able  to  distribute  to  every  one  in  due  season.  He 
who  is  not  apt  to  teach,  ought  never  to  be  commis- 
sioned as  a  teacher.  The  gifts  of  the  Spirit  are  va- 
rious. "  To  one  is  given  the  word  of  wisdom,  to 
another  the  word  of  knowledge,  to  another  proph- 
ecy." With  regard  to  the  servants  of  the  Lord 
Christ,  according  to  the  gift  of  each,  so  let  his 
sphere  be.  If  "  prophecy,  let  him  prophesy  accord- 
ing to  the  proportion  of  faith  ;  or  teaching,  let  him 
wait  on  his  teaching ;  or  he  that  exhorteth,  on  ex- 
hortation." 

When,  therefore,  any  one  comes  forward  to  offer 
himself  as  a  laborer  in  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord, 
before  he  can  be  rightly  assigned  to  any  sphere,  the 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    207 

question  as  to  his  spiritual  character  must  be  favor- 
ably decided,  and  then  his  sphere  should  be  deter- 
mined by  his  gifts.  Which  of  the  various  gifts  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  have  been  conferred  upon  him? 
If  none  of  them,  who  dare  say  that  he  is  to  be  a 
minister  of  God,  and  a  teacher  of  the  souls  of  men? 
Surely  this  is  not  the  Church  of  Christ,  that  is  going 
to  lay  hands  upon  a  man,  of  whom  no  one  knows 
whether  he  has  any  gift  whatever  from  God — a 
man  whose  voice  has  never  been  raised  in  exhorta- 
tion, teaching,  preaching,  or  public  prayer,  who  has 
given  no  more  evidence  of  gifts  and  fitness  than  a 
thousand  others  who  make  no  pretension  to  be  fit 
— going  to  set  such  an  one  over  hundreds  of  pro- 
fessed Christians  as  their  teacher  and  pastor,  as  the 
leader  of  their  devotions,  and  the  only  instructor 
of  their  souls ! 

It  is  a  manifest  inversion  of  Christian  order, 
when  the  commission  of  the  Church  is  taken  to 
be  the  authority  to  commence  the  exercise  of  spirit- 
ual gifts.  In  the  New  Testament  the  Church's 
only  warrant  for  issuing  her  commission  is  the 
known  possession  of  such  gifts ;  and  this  can  only 
be  proved  by  their  previous  exercise.  Her  work 
was  not  to  create  gifts,  but  from  among  the  gifted 
brethren  to  select  those  whom  the  Lord  had,  by 
His  own  will  and  act,  previously  fitted  for  special 
offices.  The  ordination  of  the  Church  to  the  min- 


208  THE  TONGUE   OF  FIEE. 

istry  was  not  a  Christian's  first  authority  to  preach 
Christ ;  for  that,  opportunity  and  ability  were 
authority  enough ;  but  the  special  eminence  and 
usefulness  of  some  among  the  company  of  preach- 
ers was  the  Church's  warrant  for  separating  them 
to  the  sole  work  of  the  ministry.  If  a  commission 
from  the  Church  be  held  to  supply  the  place  either 
of  the  Spirit's  constraining  call,  or  of  His  qualifying 
gift,  His  office  in  perpetuating  the  ministry  is  super- 
seded. To  do  this  effectually,  it  is  not  necessary 
to  blot  from  creeds  the  expressions  of  right  belief, 
but  only  to  adopt  in  practice  such  regulations  as 
will  enable  men  without  grace,  or  without  gifts,  by 
the  use  of  ordinary  professional  preparations,  to 
obtain  a  commission,  and  stand  up  as  accredited 
stewards  of  the  mysteries  of  God. 

The  operation  of  the  Spirit  in  fitting  the  minister 
for  the  work  of  God  is  seen,  in  the  Old  Testament, 
in  connection,  not  with  the  priestly  office,  but  with 
that  of  the  prophet.  The  former  was  a  typical  and 
temporary  office,  existing  only  as  the  precursor  and 
type  of  the  great  High  Priest,  and  terminating 
at  once  and  forever  when  He  whom  it  foreshadow- 
ed had  made  His  offering,  and  passed  within  the 
vail.  The  work  of  the  priest  was  not  to  teach, 
edify,  warn,  and  forewarn,  but  to  be  the  medium 
of  access  to  the  presence  of  God  on  His  mercy-seat. 
As  such,  he  has  no  earthly  successor  in  Christianity : 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    209 

his  office,  we  repeat,  ended  forever  with  the  atone- 
ment and  ascension  of  our  Lord.  Then  came  a 
change  of  the  priesthood,  that  of  Levi  giving  place 
to  that  of  Melchisedec,  which  was  vested,  not  in  a 
succession  of  mutable  men,  but  all  in  the  Unchang- 
ing ONE,  whose  sacrifice  should  never  need  repeti- 
tion, whose  years  should  never  fail,  and  whose  in- 
finite tenderness  should  feel  every  infirmity  of 
every  suppliant. 

The  office  of  the  prophet  was  to  warn,  to  re- 
prove, to  rebuke,  to  exhort,  as  well  as  to  foreshow. 
That  office  is  not  repeated  in  all  its  features  in  the 
Christian  "  pastor  and  teacher,"  but  as  to  its  essen- 
tials it  is.  Foretelling  is  the  one  function  wherein 
the  two  differ ;  and  that  was  appropriately  the  gift 
of  an  age  in  which  revelation  was  incomplete,  and 
all  the  hopes  of  believers  turned  to  a  light  yet  un- 
risen.  Indeed,  it  may  be  worth  considering  whether 
the  perpetuation  of  the  foretelling  gift  would  not 
suppose  an  incomplete  revelation,  and  whether  the 
closing  of  the  canon  of  revealed  truth  does  not  nat- 
urally carry  with  it  the  termination  of  that  wonder- 
ful gift  by  which,  from  age  to  age,  additions  had 
been  made  to  the  previous  stores  of  truth. 

When  St.  Paul  urges  upon  us  to  desire,  and,  in- 
deed, to  follow  after,  the  "  spiritual  gift"  of  proph- 
ecy, and  holds  out  the  inducement  which  should 

lead  us  to  covet  it  above  all  other  gifts,  he  has  not 
14 


210  THE   TONGUE    OF   FIRE. 

in  his  eye,  and  does  not  present  to  ours,  the  honor 
or  the  profit  of  foretelling.  The  only  inducements 
he  assigns  are  these :  "  He  that  prophesieth  speak- 
eth  unto  men  to  edification,  and  exhortation,  and 
comfort."  "  I  would  that  ye  all  spake  with  tongues, 
but  rather  that  ye  prophesied:  for  greater  is  he 
that  prophesieth  than  he  that  speaketh  with  tongues, 
except  he  interpret,  that  the  Church  may  receive 
edifying  *  *  *  But  if  all  prophesy,  and  there 
come  in  one  that  believeth  not,  or  one  unlearned,  he 
is  convinced  of  all,  he  is  judged  of  all :  and  thus  are 
the  secrets  of  his  heart  made  manifest ;  and  so, 
falling  down  on  his  face,  he  will  worship  God,  and 
report  that  God  is  in  you  of  a  truth."  Thus,  in  the 
passages  where  the  Apostle  speaks  most  upon  the 
Christian  gift  of  prophecy,  he  makes  no  allusion  to 
foretelling;  and  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  we 
read  that  "Judas  and  Silas,  being  prophets  also 
themselves,  exhorted  the  brethren  with  many  words, 
and  confirmed  them."  We  have  no  record  any- 
where of  Silas  foretelling,  nor  is  there  the  least  al- 
lusion to  the  exercise  of  such  a  gift ;  yet  his  ex- 
hortation and  that  of  Jude,  with  their  confirming 
arguments  or  appeals,  are  at  once  set  down  as  the 
exercise  of  the  prophetic  gift. 

The  highest  office  of  the  Spirit  in  the  Prophet  of 
the  old  dispensation  was  to  enable  him  to  see  and 
to  depict  "the  sufferings  of  Christ,  and  the  glory 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    211 

that  should  follow,"  as  though  they  were  before  his 
eye ;  and  the  highest  office  of  the  same  Spirit  in 
God's  minister,  in  our  day,  is  to  enable  him  to  des- 
cry, by  an  inner  eye,  the  glories  and  the  grace  of  a 
Lord  whom  he  has  never  seen;  and  to  descant 
upon  them  as  though  his  eye  beheld  Him,  and  his 
ear  was  tingling  with  His  voice.  The  same  spirit- 
ual light  which  made  a  future  Redeemer  present  to 
Isaiah,  is  needful  to  make  a  past  Redeemer  present 
to  the  Christian  preacher.  Without  it,  the  one 
might  have  had  an  expectation,  and  the  other 
might  have  a  belief;  but  neither  could  burn  and 
melt  as  in  the  presence  of  a  living,  loving,  redeem- 
ing Prince  of  Peace.  The  spirit  of  prophecy  illu- 
minated the  future  to  the  one,  and  illuminates  the 
past  to  the  other — gave  that  which  was  a  promise 
the  force  of  a  thing  done,  and  gives  that  which  is  a 
record  the  force  of  a  thing  now  doing. 

The  difference,  within  the  soul  of  a  man,  between 
merely  cherishing  an  expectation  or  a  belief,  and 
seeing,  feeling,  thrilling  under  the  impression  of  a 
present  Friend  and  Deliverer,  makes  in  his  utter- 
ance the  difference  between  a  tame  declaration 
which  disturbs  neither  prejudice  nor  indifference, 
and  an  overpowering  force  of  speech  that  bears 
men's  hearts  away.  So  far  was  the  gift  whereby 
the  Spirit  enabled  the  servants  of  Christ  to  speak 
as  the  oracles  of  God  respecting  the  Master  whom, 


212  THE  TONGUE   OF  FIRE. 

though  "  not  having  seen,  they  loved,"  from  being 
considered  essentially  different  from  that  where- 
with He  had  endued  the  ancient  Prophets,  that 
the  same  name  is  freely  applied  to  it,  even  when, 
as  we  have  seen,  the  idea  of  foretelling  is  not  in- 
cluded. 

However  decided  might  be  the  evidence,  that  an 
individual  was  a  child  of  God,  and  had  a  gift,  an- 
other element  is  ever  kept  in  view  as  an  attestation 
that  he  is  truly  commissioned  from  the  Father — the 
power  and  anointing  of  the  Holy  One  transfused 
throughout  his  preaching,  and  giving  it  a  moral 
effect  which  ordinary  speech,  however  wise,  would 
never  carry.  "  Not  in  word  only,"  however  true 
and  scriptural  that  word  might  be,  "  but  in  power, 
and  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  in  much  assurance." 
"The  kingdom  of  God  is  not  in  word,  but  in 
power."  "  The  preaching  of  the  Cross  is  to  them 
that  perish  foolishness,  but  unto  us  who  are  saved 
it  is  the  power  of  God."  "My  speech  and  my 
preaching  were  not  with  enticing  words  of  man's 
wisdom,  but  with  demonstration  of  the  Spirit  and 
of  power,  that  your  faith  should  not  stand  in  the 
wisdom  of  men,  but  in  the  power  of  God."  Here 
we  see  the  most  highly  gifted  of  the  Apostles  clearly 
recognizing  the  fact,  that  his  success  as  an  embassa- 
clor  to  sinful  men  lay  not  in  the  perfectness  of  his 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    213 

intellectual  perceptions,  nor  in  the  mode  in  which, 
he  presented  the  truth  to  the  intellectual  view  of 
those  whom  he  addressed,  but  in  a  spiritual  element 
of  his  preaching,  as  distinct  from  its  intellectual 
characteristics  as  they  were  from  its  physical  elocu- 
tion, and  as  necessary,  in  addition  to  the  intellectual 
presentation  of  truth,  as  was  the  latter  in  addition 
to  a  rush  of  words.  Without  clear  intellectual  pre- 
sentation of  truth,  any  flow  of  words  would  fail  to 
convince  or  to  enlighten.  Without  the  spiritual 
power,  any  exposition  or  argument  would  fail  to 
awaken  or  regenerate.  The  work  of  Paul  was 
nothing  short  of  a  commission  to  "  turn  them  from 
darkness  to  light,  and  from  the  power  of  Satan 
unto  God,  that  they  may  receive  forgiveness  of 
sins,  and  an  inheritance  among  them  that  are  sanc- 
tified ;"  and  this  he  knew  would  never  be  effected 
except  by  "  power  and  by  the  Holy  Ghost,"  work- 
ing in  and  through  whatever  truth  he  might  utter 
as  the  bearer  of  God's  great  message. 

Without  this  call  from  God,  this  gift  from  God, 
and  this  power  from  God,  no  one  can  be  recognized 
as,  in  the  scriptural  sense,  an  embassador  from  God. 
To  dispense  with  any  one  of  these  essentials  in  the 
qualification  of  a  minister,  is  to  introduce  a  radical 
change  into  the  institution  of  the  ministry  itself, 
and  to  set  it  up  on  a  basis  for  which  there  is  no 
scriptural  precedent.  These  essentials  being  se- 


214  THE   TONGUE   OF   FIRE 

cured,  the  training  is  varied  according  to  circum- 
stances. In  the  case  of  the  Apostles  and  the  Sev- 
enty, after  our  Lord  had  called  them  under  the 
promise  that  He  would  make  them  fishers  of  men, 
He  retained  them  near  His  own  person,  continually 
instructing  them  in  the  oracles  of  God,  giving  them 
the  highest  example  of  teaching  and  of  a  holy  life ; 
and  this  training  He  continued  for  three  years. 
After  the  call  of  St.  Paul,  we  find  that  three  years 
elapsed  before  He  came  up  to  Jerusalem,  which 
time  he.  had  spent  in  Arabia  and  Damascus,  in  what 
manner  we  are  not  informed,  but  probably  in  study 
of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  tending  to  give  him  a  fuller 
acquaintance  with  the  revelation  of  God  in  Christ. 
It  is  certain,  however,  that  he  was  also  exercising 
his  gifts ;  for  even  in  Damascus,  immediately  after 
his  conversion,  he  began  to  preach.  The  training 
of  Apollos  lay  first  in  such  light  as  he  received  as  a 
disciple  of  John's  baptism,  next  in  the  exercise  of 
his  gifts,  and  then  in  the  further  instruction  of 
Aquila  and  Priscilla.  The  training  of  Timothy  lay 
in  the  early  teaching  of  a  holy  mother  and  grand- 
mother, the  ordinary  means  of  grace,  study  of  the 
word  of  God,  and  then  personal  fellowship  with  the 
Apostle  Paul  and  his  fellow-laborers  on  their  jour- 
neys and  in  their  toils.  Whatever  special  training 
individuals  may  have  been  favored  with,  that  which 
was  essential  in  the  training  was  common  to  all ; 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    215 

namely,  instruction  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  the  ex- 
ercise of  their  gifts  in  religious  assemblies  either  of 
the  Church  or  of  the  synagogue,  and  the  gradual 
development  of  those  gifts,  until  fitness  for  the 
ministry  was  clearly  proved. 

Whatever  value  general  education  may  have 
held  in  the  eyes  of  our  blessed  Lord,  or  of  the 
anointing  Spirit,  it  is  plain  that  even  the  Apostles, 
in  the  height  and  glory  of  their  Pentecostal  preach- 
ing, were  not  gifted  with  any  power  which  would 
cover  the  provincial  peculiarities  of  their  speech,  or 
enable  them  to  conciliate  the  refined  by  graceful 
enunciation.  The  educated  ears  of  the  Scribes 
of  Jerusalem  at  once  recognized,  in  the  workers  of 
miracles  and  the  teachers  of  an  increasing  Church, 
"  unlearned  and  ignorant  men."  But,  as  we  noticed 
before,  their  want  of  learning  related  only  to  mat- 
ters of  polite  education,  not  to  the  deep  things  of 
the  word  of  God,  the  doctrines,  facts,  and  promises 
of  which  they  were  commissioned  to  expound  to 
the  world.  The  general  education  of  Luke  .and 
Paul  was  gained  with  a  view  to  general  purposes, 
and  turned  to  the  service  of  the  Church  by  the 
grace  which  converted  them. 

We  now  come  to  the  simple  question,  Are  the 
call,  the  gift,  the  power,  and  the  training  of  the 
Christian  Minister  to  continue  to  the  end  of  time, 


216  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

as  to  essentials,  the  same  as  in  the  apostolic  age  ? 
Are  we  to  expect  identity,  in  these  particulars,  be- 
tween the  ministry  of  our  day,  and  that  of  the  first 
century;  or,  dispensing  with  this,  are  we  to  be 
contented  simply  with  a  lineal  connection  ?  To  put 
out  of  sight  the  scriptural  precedents  and  essentials 
of  ministerial  qualification,  to  give  up  the  spiritual 
identity  of  the  ministry,  and  be  satisfied  with  a 
lineal  connection,  is  a  lamentable  abandonment  of 
the  Church's  hope.  If  she  do  not  obtain  for  the 
sacred  office  a  succession  of  men  able  to  teach,  and 
endued  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  she  can  not  preserve 
to  herself,  or  transmit  to  future  ages,  the  primitive 
and  apostolic  ministry.  Though  all  the  appendages 
'  of  the  office  be  preserved,  if  the  spiritual  essentials 
of  the  Minister  be  lost,  the  pith  and  sap  of  the 
ancient  tree  are  gone,  though  the  bark  and  foliage 
may  survive.  It  is  for  the  Church  to  see  that  un- 
equivocal signs  of  grace,  and  gifts,  and  fruitfulness, 
mark  out  every  candidate  for  the  sacred  office  as 
one  chosen  of  the  Lord ;  and  not  to  accept  instead 
of  these  any  substitute  whatever,  whether  it  be  his 
own  profession,  or  some  qualifications  supposed  to 
replace  the  primitive  ones. 

Though  no  one  formally  professes  that  the  Chris- 
tian ministry  has  become  a  totally  different  institu- 
tion from  that  which  Christ  founded — different  in 
the  qualification  it  requires,  in  the  mode  of  indue- 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    217 

tion,  and  in  the  source  and  fruit  of  its  efficacy — yet 
all  this  is  assumed  in  the  current  writings  and 
thoughts  of  many,  and  the  assumption  is  wrought 
into  the  framework  and  usages  of  different  Churches. 
For  a  call  of  God,  delivered  by  the  voice  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  in  the  silence  of  a  believing  heart, 
and  manifested  by  earnest  efforts  to  save  souls  and 
to  promote  holy  works,  a  formal  commission  from 
ecclesiastical  authorities  is  relied  upon.  Instead 
of  a  gift  from  God — a  gift  of  sacred  and  impress- 
ive speech,  a  "tongue  of  fire" — we  have  substi- 
tuted a  ritual;  instead  of  a  scriptural  training,  a 
high  education ;  and  instead  of  a  power  from  God, 
some  substitute  intellectualism,  and  others  pro- 
priety. 

We  are  very  far  from  decrying  these  things  in 
their  right  place.  The  commission  is  good  and 
needful  as  the  Church's  seal  and  recognition  of  the 
Lord's  call,  but  ridiculous  and  self-contradictory  as 
a  substitute  for  it.  Learning  is  invaluable  when 
associated  with  and  adorning  gifts  from  God,  but 
lower  than  pitiable  when  offered  as  a  substitute  for 
the  power  of  opening  and  enforcing  the  Divine 
oracles.  Propriety,  intellectualism,  and  ritual,  have 
their  honorable  plac& ;  but  when,  instead  of  the 
power  which  penetrates  the  soul,  we  have  only 
ceremony  which  fascinates  the  taste,  or  talent  which 
regales  the  intellect,  then  are  we  fallen  from  the 


218  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

region  of  Divine  to  that  of  human  things,  brought 
down  from  "  the  power  of  God"  to  "  the  wisdom 
of  man." 

For  this  substitution  different  classes  are  to  be 
blamed ;  Church  authorities,  chiefly  for  covering 
the  want  of  a  call  and  a  gift  from  God  by  a  com- 
mission from  man  ;  and  the  multitude  of  professed 
Christians,  chiefly  for  coveting  not  so  much  spiritual 
power,  as  propriety  or  intellectualism.  Did  the 
former  adhere  to  the  primitive  idea  of  the  ministry, 
they  would  no  more  commission,  as  a  Minister  oi 
God,  a  man  who  had  not  given  proof,  first  of  sincere 
godliness,  and  then  of  ministerial  gifts,  than  would 
any  naval  Board  accredit  a  man  as  a  pilot  who  had 
studied  navigation  and  charts,  but  had  never  sailed 
the  particular  channel  on  which  he  was  to  be  in- 
trusted with  valuable  lives;  or  than  would  any 
medical  Board  give  a  surgeon's  diploma  to  a  man 
who  had  read  and  heard  lectures,  but  had  never 
been  in  a  hospital,  or  dealt  with  an  actual  patient. 
To  substitute  education  for  the  ministerial  gift 
(even  when  grace  is  possessed)  is,  in  fact,  to  set 
aside  th'e  question,  Is  this  man  called  of  God  ? 
And  to  substitute  it  for  evidences  of  grace  (even 
when  gifts  are  possessed)  is  equally  to  set  that 
question  aside.  True,  it  may  be  still  retained  in 
words ;  but  if  that  is  done,  and  yet,  without  proof 
of  both  gifts  and  grace,  a  man  be  inducted  into  the 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    219 

ministry  upon  the  simple  evidence  of  education, 
the  question  is  deliberately  evaded,  and  the  sin  of 
falsifying  Christ's  owir  institution  is  not  mitigated 
by  the  plea  of  forgetfulness,  much  less  of  ignor- 
ance ;  but,  with  both  knowledge  and  memory 
of  what  it  originally  was,  another  thing,  differing 
from  it  in  the  first  and  most  essential  qualities, 
is  hailed  by  its  name,  and  invested  with  its  func- 
tions. 

To  constitute  a  Christian,  three  things  are  neces- 
sary— faith,  experience,  and  practice  :  to  constitute 
a  Minister,  four — faith,  experience,  practice,  and 
gifts.  Without  experience,  knowledge  or  belief 
can  no  more  qualify  a  man  to  teach  heart  repent- 
ance, and  heart  faith,  and  heart  holiness,  than  book 
knowledge,  whatever  might  be  its  amount,  would 
qualify  a  man  to  train  soldiers,  if  he  had  never  him- 
self passed  through  the  process  of  military  disci- 
pline. Without  gifts,  education  and  experience 
would  be  together  as  insufficient  a  qualification,  as 
if  a  soldier  had  ammunition  and  discipline,  without 
weapons. 

It  is  difficult  to  describe  the  evil  done,  when  the 
x  Church  overlays  the  essential  qualification  and  train- 
ing of  the  primitive  ministry  by  exalting  substitutes 
for  the  active  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  when 
she  farther  sets  before  all  men  a  profession  with 
high  prizes,  the  door  to  which  will  infallibly  be 


220  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

opened  by  a  certain  course  of  education,  unless 
they  disgrace  themselves,  and  thus  allures  them  to 
make  sacred  professions  from  secular  motives.  On 
each  individual  who  makes  such  professions  without 
due  care  the  guilt  of  voluntarily  sinning  must  for- 
ever lie  ;  but  how  far  has  the  Church  been  his 
tempter,  when  she  makes  overtures  to  him  irrespect- 
ive of  qualifications  which  are  clearly  laid  down  in 
the  word  of  God,  as  those  only  which  attest  the 
Divine  sanction  and  call  ? 

It  may  be  asked  whether  we  are  to  expect  that 
hi  all  ages  a  sufficient  number  of  men  will  be  raised 
up,  bearing  the  primitive  marks  of  a  call  from  God, 
and  of  gifts  from  God ;  and  our  reply  would  be, 
simply,  REMEMBER  THE  TEN  DAYS.  There  we  see 
men  whose  commission  had  come  from  the  lips  of 
the  Lord  Jesus,  whose  training  had  been  under  His 
own  eye,  who  have  forsaken  houses,  and  lands,  and 
all  that  could  bind  them  to  secular  avocations,  who 
are  ready  to  set  forth  upon  the  work  of  calling  and 
warning  a  world  that  is  "  lying  in  the  wicked  one ;" 
and  yet  day  after  day  the  inhibition  lies  upon  them, 
that  they  are  to  tarry  until  they  are  endued  with 
power  from  on  high.  As  we  look  at  that  spectacle 
— sinners  dying,  tune  rolling  on,  the  Master  looking 
down  from  His  newly-ascended  throne  on  the  world 
which  He  has  redeemed,  seeing  death  bear  away  its 
thousands  while  His  servants  keep  silence — there  is 


PERMANENT   BENEFITS   TO  THE   CHURCH.        221 

ki  that  silence  a  tone  which  booms  through  all  the 
future,  warning  us  that  never,  never,  under  the  dis- 
pensation of  the  Spirit,  are  men  to  set  out  upon  the 
embassy  of  Christ,  be  their  qualifications  or  creden- 
tials what  they  may,  until  first  they  have  been  en- 
dued with  power  from  on  high,  been  baptized  with 
tongues  of  fire.  Better  let  the  Church  wait  ever 
so  long — better  let  the  ordinances  of  God's  house 
be  without  perfunctory  actors,  and  all,  feeling  sore 
need,  be  forced  to  cry  with  special  urgency  for 
fresh  outpourings  and  baptisms  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
to  raise  up  holy  ministers,  than  that,  by  any  man- 
ner of  factitious  supply,  substitutes  should  be  fur- 
nished— substitutes  no  more  ministers  of  God,  than 
coals  arranged  in  a  grate  are  a  fire ;  or  than  a  golden 
candlestick  with  a  wax  candle,  which  flame  has 
never  touched,  is  a  light. 

If  it  was  the  original  design  of  the  Lord  to  with- 
draw from  the  Church  the  ministerial  grace  of  the 
Spirit,  and  to  leave  her  to  the  care  of  pastors,  all 
whose  qualifications  were  natural,  or  gained  by  nat- 
ural acquisition,  all  whose  authority  was  derived 
from  human  commission,  without  any  "manifesta- 
tion of  the  Spirit,"  either  in  gifts  or  moral  power ; 
it  was  clearly  His  purpose  that  His  religion  should 
essentially  change  its  character,  after  its  establish- 
ment in  the  world.  This  change,  also,  would  be  not 
in  the  direction  of  improvement,  but  of  degeneracy ; 


222  THE  TONGUE   OF  FIRE. 

not  by  progressive  increase  of  communication  with 
His  redeemed  flock,  but  by  progressive  increase  of 
distance  between  it  and  Him ;  not  by  bringing 
earthly  things  nearer  to  heavenly,  but  by  removing 
them  further  away.  It  would  imply  a  design,  on 
his  part,  to  reduce  the  Christian  dispensation  lower, 
as  to  ministerial  grace,  than  even  the  Jewish  :  for  in 
it  the  prophetic  spirit  was  constantly  giving  mani- 
festation that  there  was  a  God  in  Israel ;  not  merely 
that  there  was  truth,  order,  priesthood,  a  Church, 
but  A  GOD,  a  living  Being,  high,  holy,  and  wise, 
who  dwelt  amid  the  people,  and  actively  moved, 
through  His  servants,  for  the  instruction,  reproof, 
and  holiness  of  all ; — "  rising  up  early  and  sending" 
messenger  after  messenger.  It  would,  in  fact,  im- 
ply, that  while  the  dispensation  of  the  Gospel  was 
the  most  favored  as  to  truth,  it  would  be  the  least 
favored  as  to  tokens  of  actual  intercourse  between 
the  Saviour  and  His  people :  for  even  the  days  of 
the  patriarchs  were  lighted  with  frequent  manifesta- 
tions of  God.  It  is  laid  down  as  the  principle  of 
our  dispensation,  that  the  manifestations  of  God  are 
to  be  by  the  operation  and  gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
It  is,  therefore,  consistent  Christianity  to  expect  no 
supernatural  manifestations  but  of  this  kind.  But 
is  it  consistent  Christianity,  or  Christianity  of  any 
kind,  not  to  expect  these  at  ah1 ;  not  to  count  upon 
direct  gifts  from  above,  upon  such  wonderful  work- 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    223 

ing  of  the  Spirit  through  the  mind  and  tongue  oi 
messengers,  as  would  compel  all  to  feel  that  their  en- 
dowments were  not  from  nature  only,  but  were  indi- 
cative of  Divine  power  ? 

If  it  be  not  alleged  that  the  Lord  did  indeed 
mean  to  withdraw  ministerial  grace,  in  every  appre- 
ciable and  practical  form ;  on  what  other  ground 
can  the  notion  that  the  ministry  is  to  be  supplied  by 
candidates,  just  as  any  other  profession  is  supplied, 
be  rested  ?  and  all  that  is  necessary  is,  that  fathers 
should  decide  that  their  sons  are  to  be  ministers, 
and  not  soldiers  or  lawyers ;  and  should  educate 
them;  that  then,  after  an  examination  in  general 
knowledge  and  theology,  the  candidate  shall  be  in- 
vested with  an  office  which  professes  to  be  held  by 
commission  from  God  ?  On  what  other  ground  can 
one  avoid  the  conclusion,  that  the  first  movement 
toward  placing  any  one  in  the  ministry,  should  re- 
sult from  proof  given  that  the  Holy  Spirit  had  en- 
dued him  with  pastoral  dispositions  and  pastoral 
gifts ;  and  that  every  subsequent  step  in  the  same 
direction  should  be  taken  carefully,  after  confirma- 
tory evidences  of  the  same  ? 

It  is  easy  to  say  that  we  must  not  expect  such 
clear  cases  to  occur  constantly;  and  must  follow 
some  definite  mode  of  preparation.  Yes,  we  must 
follow  some  definite  mode ;  but  defined  on  princi- 
ples of  faith,  not  of  unbelief.  "  We  must  not  ex- 


224  THE  TONGUE   OP   FIRE. 

pect  a  constant  occurrence  of  clear  cases !"  On 
what  principles  must  we  not  ?  On  those  of  the 
New  Testament,  or  of  modern  writers  ?  On  those 
of  the  Church  in  the  apostolic  age,  or  of  subsequent 
and  degenerate  ages  ?  On  those  of  Christ's  uncor- 
rupted  Christianity,  or  those  of  fallen  Churches  ? 
On  the  principle  of  "I  BELIEVE  IN  THE  HOLY 
GHOST,"  or  on  the  principle  of  "  I  believe  only  in 
nature  ?" 

The  definite  mode  of  perpetuating  the  supply  of 
ministers  should  rest  on  the  sole  foundation  of  the 
Christian  faith,  rejecting  every  idea  of  distrust  as 
resolutely  as  a  chemist  would  reject  every  idea  of 
inconstancy  in  the  affinities  of  elements  ;  rejecting 
every  idea  of  substituting  other  action  for  that  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  as  decisively  as  a  gunner  would  re- 
ject the  idea  of  aiding  his  explosion  with  mechanical 
force.  If  we  have  not  the  spirit  to  raise  up  agents, 
we  can  not  preserve  Christ's  Church  alive ;  if  we 
have  Him,  we  may  fully  trust  Him  to  do  all  that  is 
not  made  to  depend  on  our  own  fidelity.  To  doubt 
the  supply  of  summer  heat,  and  to  set  ourselves  to 
rear  harvests  in  hot-beds,  would  not  be  doing  more 
violence  to  the  laws  of  the  physical  kingdom,  than 
it  is  to  the  laws  of  the  spiritual  kingdom  to  doubt 
the  supply  of  the  Spirit  whereby  laborers  fit  for  the 
field  are  raised  up,  and  to  set  ourselves  to  furnish 
others. 


PERMANENT   BENEFITS   TO   THE   CHURCH.         225 

Firm  in  faith,  the  Church  ought  to  set  at  the  very 
entrance  of  the  pathway  toward  the  ministry,  a  gate 
which  no  family  influence,  no  education  could  open ; 
which  none  could  pass  but  they  whom  a  number  of 
serious  and  godly  men — not  ministers  alone,  but  also 
laymen  who  had  to  hear,  and  feed,  or  starve,  ac- 
cording to  the  quality  of  the  ministrations — would 
deliberately  conclude  were  worthy,  at  least,  to  be 
admitted  to  probation  for  the  work  of  the  ministry. 
Such  a  gate  none  could  pass  but  one  who  was  either 
in  earnest,  or  a  studious  and  practiced  hypocrite. 

Where  the  primitive  training  is  maintained,  all 
the  members  of  the  Church  exercise  such  gifts  as 
the  Spirit  has  distributed  to  them — prayer,  and  ex- 
hortation, and  teaching,  and  mutual  speaking  one  to 
another,  and  admonishing  one  another.  Among  the 
working  believers  of  such  a  scriptural  Church,  a 
suitable  proportion  will  ever  be  raised  up  whose 
gifts  will  fit  them  to  lead  in  all  the  offices.  This  is 
the  real  training  school  for  Christian  agents  ;  a  fruit- 
ful CKhrch  is  her  own  nursery.  Meetings  for  fel- 
lowship of  saints,  for  free-hearted  prayer,  for  exhort- 
ation, are  the  legitimate  means  by  which  they  whom 
the  Lord  is  fitting  for  His  high  ministry  shall  be  led 
to  the  development  of  their  gifts.  This  training 
must  be  held  as  indispensable,  and  of  an  essential 
importance  with  which  no  other  training  has  any 
pretense  to  claim  a  comparison ;  and  then  general 


226  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIBE. 

education  must  be  held  to  have  the  same  relation  to 
the  Christian  ministry  as  a  general  education  has  to 
any  other  profession;  and  theological  education  the 
same  as  special  education  has  to  the  other  profes- 
sions. 

Classics  and  mathematics,  history  and  logic,  are 
of  admirable  use  to  a  lawyer ;  but  if,  qualified  by 
these,  he  is  to  attempt  to  conduct  cases  without 
having  been  specially  trained  in  pleading,  alas  for 
his  clients !  They  are  of  great  use  to  a  physician ; 
but  if,  by  their  light,  and  without  study  of  diseases 
and  remedies,  he  undertake  to  heal,  alas  for  the 
families  which  put  precious  life  in  his  trust !  To  a 
minister  their  value  is  quite  as  great  as  to  either  of 
the  others ;  but  study  of  theology  is  as  indispens- 
able to  him,  as  £tudy  of  law  or  medicine  to  them  ; 
and  practical  experience  of  that  repentance,  faith, 
and  holiness  which  he  is  to  enforce,  is  as  necessary 
as  practical  treatment  of  disease  in  addition  to 
study ;  or  as  practical  acquaintance  with  a  ship  at 
sea  is  needful  for  a  mariner,  in  addition  to  the 
science  of  navigation. 

Were  we  forced  to  choose  between  two  men,  one 
of  whom  is  an  accomplished  scholar  without  prac- 
tical godliness,  the  other  a  holy  and  gifted  man 
without  refined  scholarship ;  to  ask  us  the  question, 
which  we  should  prefer  for  our  minister,  is  about  as 
respectful  to  our  faith  as  Christians,  as  it  would  be 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    227 

respectful  to  the  common  sense  of  a  ship-owner, 
soberly  to  ask  whether  he  preferred,  as  a  pilot  for 
his  ships,  a  scholar  from  a  nautical  academy  who 
had  never  walked  a  deck,  or  a  rough  sailor  who  had 
often  sailed  the  very  waters  over  which  the  precious 
freight  must  be  conveyed.  Alas  for  those  whose 
souls  are  watched  over  by  unconverted  scholars! 
And  even  if  converted  and  gifted,  the  minister  of 
Christ  should  not  come  to  his  office  without  having 
been  practiced  in  prayer,  in  exhortation,  in  preach- 
ing, in  all  the  art  of  healing  souls,  and  that  not  in 
books  only,  not  in  schools  only,  but  also  in  the 
lively  meetings  and  labors  of  the  Church. 

We  not  only  acknowledge,  but  gratefully  believe 
and  record,  that  many  of  those  who  had  been  in- 
vested with  the  ministry  without  sufficient  test  of 
their  fitness,  have,  in  the  event,  become  burning 
and  shining  lights.  But  if  this,  on  the  one  baud, 
deserves  to  be  continually  remembered  as  a  proof 
of  God's  tender  mercy  to  His  Church,  it  is,  on  the 
other  hand,  not  less  to  be  noted,  that  He  has  ordi- 
narily allowed  such  unauthorized  appointments  to 
be  followed  by  their  natural  consequences,  until 
whole  nations  have  come  under  the  curse  of  a  min- 
istry who  either  taught  another  Gospel  than  that 
of  the  Apostles,  or  who,  perfunctorily  exhibiting 
the  shell  of  the  truth,  set  the  example  of  denying 
its  power ;  and  that  even  where  the  Church  had 


228  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIEE. 

been  reformed,  although  primitive  Christianity  had 
not  been  generally  revived.  What  England  was  a 
century  ago — what  many  Protestant  Churches  on 
the  Continent  are  at  this  moment,  sufficiently  shows 
that  if  guards  are  not  placed  at  the  entrance  to  the 
ministry,  such  as  will  hinder  the  admission  of  any 
but  spiritually-minded  men,  the  course  of  Provi- 
dence is  to  allow  the  sin  to  work  out  its  own  pun- 
ishment. 

While  ecclesiastical  authorities  may  be  justly 
blamed  for  too  readily  substituting  a  Church  com- 
mission for  the  genuine  call  and  gift  of  God,  the 
multitude  of  professed  Christians  are  no  less  ready 
to  accept,  instead  of  the  genuine  moral  power  which 
is  the  true  pre-eminence  of  the  Christian  minister, 
a  substitute  in  either  propriety  or  intellectualism. 
A  people  whose  idea  of  the  ministry  was  formed 
by  inspirations  from  the  New  Testament,  would 
look  and  crave,  with  feelings  amounting  to  hunger 
and  thirst,  for  men  "  endued  with  power" — the 
true  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  awakening,  con- 
verting, edifying  power ;  power  under  which  hearts 
would  melt,  lives  would  change,  old  men  would 
put  oif  the  evil  ways  of  a  lifetime,  and  youth  put 
on  the  wisdom  of  gray  hairs,  thoughtless  revelry 
would  give  place  to  benevolent  associations,  and 
the  whole  neighborhood  begin  to  breathe  a  purer 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.         229 

and  a  nobler  spirit.  Nothing  could  to  them  com- 
pensate for  the  absence  of  this.  Though  all  pro- 
prieties gratified  the  taste,  though  the  intellect 
were  charmed,  yet  would  they  pine  and  long  for 
that  power  which  lies  beyond  the  ken  of  the  eye, 
the  taste,  or  the  intellect;  but  which  the  moral 
nature  at  once  feels  and  responds  to,  either  by  a 
stern  moral  resistance,  felt  to  be  a  resistance  to 
the  voice  of  the  Spirit,  or  by  contrite  acqui- 
escence, felt  to  be  the  surrender  of  the  heart  to 
the  constraining  love  of  the  Redeemer. 

"Ye  shall  be  endued,"  said  our  Lord,  "with 
power  from  on  high" — robed  with  power.  This  is 
the  true  robing  and  vestment  of  the  minister  of 
God — an  invisible  garment  of  power,  which  sits  not 
upon  his  shoulders,  but  upon  his  spirit,  shading  him 
over  with  a  moral  dignity,  as  if  he  held  office  from 
the  King  of  kings,  and  conveying  to  every  con- 
science before  him  the  instinctive  perception  that 
he  comes  commissioned  to  deal  with  it  on  the 
things  that  affect  its  purity,  and  its  relations  with 
Him  who  planted  it  in  man. 

All  power  is  indescribable,  but  at  the  same  time 
appreciable.  What  it  is,  where  it  is,  how  it  came, 
where  it  goes,  its  measure,  movement,  nature,  form, 
or  essence,  no  human  skill  can  discover.  We  may 
ask  the  sunbeam  which  has  such  power  to  fly  and 
to  illuminate,, the  lightning  which  has  such  power 


230  THE  TONGUE    OF   FIRE. 

to  scathe,  the  dew-drop  that  has  power  to  refresh, 
the  magnet,  the  fire,  the  steam,  the  eye  that  can 
see,  the  ear  that  can  hear,  the  nerve  that  can  con- 
vey the  messages  of  will — we  may  ask  all  the  agents 
we  see  exerting  power  to  render  us  an  account  each 
of  its  own  power,  and  all  will  be  dumb.  "Not  the 
cannon-ball  on  its  flight,  or  the  lion  in  his  triumph, 
not  the  tempest  or  the  sea,  not  even  pestilence  itself, 
can  tell  us  what  is  power.  If  we  ask  Death  who 
has  put  all  things  under  his  feet,  even  he  has  no  re- 
ply ;  and  after  we  have  passed  the  question,  "  What 
is  power  ?"  round  a  mute  universe,  we  must  say, 
"  God  has  spoken  once,  yea,  twice  have  I  heard  this, 

that  POWER  BELONGETH  UNTO  GOD." 

Yet  power,  in  itself  so  hidden  and  indescribable, 
is  ever  manifest  by  its  effects.  An  effect  demon- 
strates the  presence  of  a  power.  Where  gun-powder 
explodes,  there  must  have  been  fire ;  where  water 
shoots  up  through  the  atmosphere  in  steam,  there 
must  have  been  heat;  where  iron  moves  without 
mechanical  force,  a  magnet  must  be ;  and  the  ab- 
sence of  the  effect  is  conclusive  evidence  of  the  ab- 
sence of  the  power  from  which  the  effect  would 
have  followed.  The  intellect  at  once  recognizes  the 
presence  of  intellectual  power.  The  emotions,  also, 
faithfully  tell  whenever  an  emotional  power  is 
brought  to  bear  upon  them;  and  no  less  surely 


PEEMAISTENT   BENEFITS   TO   THE   CHURCH.         231 

does  the  conscience  of  a  man  feel  when  a  moral 
power  comes  acting  upon  it. 

In  unconverted  men  a  singular  conflict  goes  on . 
they  share  the  admiration  which  every  man  feels  for 
moral  power — an  admiration  which  none  can  help 
feeling,  even  though  he  be  so  wedded  to  his  sins 
that  he  js  lashed  into  enmity  when  the  action  of 
such  a  power  makes  him  fear  that,  after  all,  he  will 
be  converted  into  a  saint ;  yet  this  feeling  is  com- 
bated by  the  natural  aversion  which  men  have  for 
every  thing  that  crosses  their  earthly  inclinations, 
and  tends  to  lead  their  affections  to  holy  things. 
On  the  one  hand,  they  feel  that  the  man  who 
preaches  to  them  ought  to  be  able  to  disturb  them 
in  their  evil  ways,  as  by  a  voice  and  a  call  from 
their  Maker;  and  they  are  drawn  toward  him  who 
has  this  character.  On  the  other  hand,  they  desire 
to  continue  longer  in  worldly  ways ;  and  it  is  com- 
fortable to  them,  and  welcome,  when,  instead  of  a 
trumpet  peal  which  would  break  their  slumbers, 
they  hear  a  pleasant  song  that  will  help  them  to 
sleep  on.  With  the  great  majority  these  latter  feel- 
ings prevail,  and,  according  as  their  own  inclinations 
and  training  lead,  they  seek  in  the  public  ordinances 
of  God's  house  either  what  they  call  an  intellectual 
treat,  or  what  they  consider  a  well-performed  and 
creditable  solemnity. 


232  THE  TONGUE   OF  FIRE. 

With  one  class,  the  highest  ideal  of  a 
service  seems  to  be,  that  nothing  should  pass  that 
could,  by  any  possibility,  offend  the  taste  of  any 
human  being  who  might  look  upon  the  whole  scene 
as  an  assembly  for  some  dignified  purpose.  As  to 
the  pulpit,  their  great  desire  is,  that  the  pulpit 
should  "  behave  itself;"  and  in  this  country  of  ours 
many  a  service  may  be  found  which  is 

"  Faultily  faultless,  icily  regular,  splendidly  null.*' 

That  is,  "faultless"  in  such  eyes — "faultless,"  if  the 
idea  of  a  Christian  service  be  not  a  scene  of  peni- 
tence, fervent  prayer,  bursting  adoration;  a  triumph 
of  spiritual  power ;  an  assembly  the  atmosphere  of 
which  breathes  of  living  souls  and  the  present  Spirit 
of  God,  of  transgressors  awakening,  and  penitents 
finding  mercy,  and  saints  standing  truly  nigh  to  the 
countenance  of  their  Father;  but,  instead  of  all 
this,  a  number  of  well-dressed  people  decorously 
meeting,  and  celebrating  something  that  affects  no 
one,  and  coolly  listening  to  something  not  formed 
to  affect  any  one,  and,  above  all,  not  formed  to 
offend  any  man,  except  him  who  wants  to  feel  his 
own  soul,  and  see  the  souls  of  his  neighbors,  moved 
to  their  depths  as  by  a  call  from  above. 

The  sanctuary  of  God  ought,  undoubtedly,  to  be 
the  highest  scene  and  model  of  propriety;  the  pul- 
pit to  be  its  foremost  and  most  shining  example. 


PERMANENT   BENEFITS  TO   THE  CHURCH.         233 

He  who,  under  any  pretext,  introduces  trifling,  odd- 
ity, or  coarseness  there,  strikes  fearfully  at  a  main 
support  of  power — true  reverence.  However  offens- 
ive want  of  propriety  may  be  elsewhere,  it  is  doubly 
so  in  the  house  of  God.  But  the  united  praying  of 
Christians,  the  delivering  of  a  message  from  above, 
and  the  mingling  of  thankful  voices  in  praise  to  the 
Most  High,  like  all  other  peculiar  actions,  have  a 
propriety  of  their  own;  and  of  all  improprieties, 
none  is  more  thoroughly  alien  to  them  than  that, 
be  it  what  it  may — whether  stiff  form  or  elaborate 
literature — which  gives  to  the  place  a  savor  rather 
of  the  wisdom  of  man  than  of  the  power  of  God. 
At  a  marriage-feast  the  solemnity  proper  to  a  fu- 
neral would  be  an  impropriety.  In  a  company  of 
friends  the  precision  of  military  movement  would 
be  improper.  The  noise  of  instruments  is  pro- 
priety in  a  concert,  the  sound  of  grinding  in  a 
mill,  the  clatter  of  shuttles  in  a  factory,  the  ring 
of  hammers  in  a  forge,  the  laughter  of  children  in 
a  nursery. 

And  so  the  house  of  God  has  its  own  atmos- 
phere ;  whatever  would  extinguish  the  reverent 
utterance  of  penitent  or  grateful  emotion  on  the 
part  of  the  simple  and  the  poor,  of  the  newly 
awakened  or  newly  forgiven — whatever  would  train 
all  Christian  feelings  to  move  there,  in  God's  own 
house  and  in  the  assembly  of  His  people,  as  if  under 


234  THE  TONGUE    OF   FIRE. 

the  cold  eye  of  a  heathen  world,  is  a  more  crying 
impropriety  than  those  departures  from  taste  which 
not  only  might  flow,  but  must  flow,  from  the  utter- 
ance of  feelings,  where  any  multitude,  composed  of 
all  classes,  is  deeply  affected.  When  the  noble  idea 
of  Christian  propriety  gives  place  to  the  paltry 
idea  of  properness — when  intense  reverence  and 
love  and  joy,  meeting  and  stirring  the  breasts  of  a 
multitude,  are  distasted,  and  men  are  set  on  having 
every  thing  square,  well  cut,  and  arranged  before- 
hand, then  we  have  little  right  to  expect  the  highest 
of  all  proprieties — the  breaking  of  sinful  hearts  as 
if  in  pieces  under  the  hammer  of  God's  word,  and 
the  cry  of  awakened  sinners,  "  What  must  we  do 
to  be  saved  ?"  In  fact,  many,  who  call  themselves 
Christians,  and  whose  claim  we  readily  allow,  would 
regard  the  utterance  of  such  a  cry  in  the  house  of 
God  as  not  less  improper  than  if  raised  in  a  theater. 
The  people  may  say,  "Amen,"  if  it  be  just  by  rule  ; 
many  murmur  a  response,  if  just  where  good  men, 
long  since  dead,  marked,  "Respond  here;"  but 
any  thing  like  the  pentecostal  scene — any  general 
outburst  of  penitent  emotion — would  be  intolerable; 
and  even  to  see  a  solitary  man,  "  unlearned  and  un- 
believing," feeling  himself  judged  and  condemned, 
and  "falling  down  upon  his  face  and  worshiping 
God,"  would  be  a  disturbance  of  propriety,  for- 
sooth, because  it  would  make  a  fracture  in  that  icy 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    235 

properness  wherein  a  long  continuance  of  cold  has 
encased  many  a  branch  of  Christ's  Church.  Yet 
this  scene  is  just  as  proper  to  the  house  of  God,  as 
the  crash  of  a  falling  tree  is  to  the  forest  where  the 
woodman  is  clearing. 

A  class  very  different  from  those  who  worship 
properness,  set  up  intellectualism  as  the  substitute 
for  power.  We  are  far  from  wishing,  in  any  way, 
to  undervalue  that  great  gift  of  God,  mental  power. 
Some  measure  of  this  is  always  implied  in  the  com- 
mission to  preach  the  Gospel;  and  the  more  of 
sense,  pathos,  imagination,  of  any  real  talent,  that 
a  Minister  may  possess,  the  more  is  he  fitted  to 
give  his  office  effect.  The  talk  in  which  some  good 
people  indulge  as  to  the  great  benefit  of  having 
weak  instruments  in  the  ministry,  is  without  a  tittle 
of  scriptural  foundation,  the  Scriptures  being  fairly 
applied  to  the  case. 

It  is  true  that,  to  the  wise  of  this  world,  the  Cross 
in  itself  is  "foolishness;"  but  Christ  never  sent 
fools  to  be  its  heralds.  The  institution  of  preach- 
ing, as  the  means  for  regenerating  mankind,  is  in 
itself  "  foolishness  ;"  but  none  of  the  preachers  sent 
of  God  were  simpletons.  Though  they  were  de- 
cpised  by  the  great,  and  were  of  no  account  with 
the  learned,  every  one  of  them  was  mighty  through 
God  to  strike  home  to  the  consciences  of  sinners, 


236  THE  TONGUE   OF  FIRE. 

and  to  confound  gainsay ers;  the  evidence  of  Divine 
power  working  with  them  being  all  the  more  con- 
spicuous by  reason  of  their  natural  or  educational 
defects.  Men  who  have  no  gift  to  teach,  warn,  or 
exhort,  ought  to  betake  themselves  to  whatever 
honest  calling  their  Maker  has  fitted  them  to  fulfill, 
and  not  pule  about  the  Lord  delighting  to  use  fool- 
ish instruments,  while  every  day  proves  that  He  is 
in  no  way  using  them,  unless  it  be  as  an  example  to 
all  not  to  assume  an  office  without  having  proved 
their  fitness.  The  men  whom  God  sends  may  be 
without  the  accomplishments  of  scholars,  but  never 
without  sense  and  utterance.  They  may  be  desti- 
tute of  the  talent  which  would  enable  them  to  treat 
secular  subjects  with  oratorial  or  literary  success 
— to  allure  the  fancy,  or  exhilarate  the  emotions, 
to  satisfy  by  logic,  or  illuminate  by  exposition,  but 
never,  never  without  power  to  act  upon  the  con- 
science ;  and  this,  in  the  absence  of  other  endow- 
ments, is  often  at  once  the  scepter  of  a  preacher's 
command,  and  the  mysterious  seal  of  his  commis- 
sion. 

He  who  speaks  to  us  in  the  name  of  our  God 
may  bring  statement  as  lucid  and  nervous  as  that 
of  Moses  or  Matthew,  wisdom  as  racy  as  that  of 
Solomon,  pathos  as  overwhelming  as  that  of  Jere- 
miah or  John,  argument  as  cogent  as  that  of  Paul, 
or  imagination  as  gorgeous  as  that  of  David  or 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    237 

Isaiah  ;  any  powers,  however  lofty,  may  he  bring — 
any  eloquence,  however  poetic,  refined,  or  bold; 
only  let  him  make  us  feel,  as  we  always  do  under 
the  hand  of  the  Prophets  and  the  Apostles,  that  all 
his  powers  are  put  in  operation  but  to  bring  us 
nearer  to  our  Redeemer. 

Where  the  notion  that  the  talent  employed  in 
Christian  preaching  ought  to  lie  within  a  limited 
and  humble  range,  without  any  high  flights,  any 
deep  soundings,  any  glowing  language,  any  meta- 
phorical illustrations,  or  any  masculine  argument, 
can  have  originated,  one  would  be  at  a  loss  to  learn, 
were  the  Bible  alone — Old  Testament  and  New — 
the  source  of  our  information.  There  we  see  the 
power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  not  allying  itself  with  one 
order  of  mind,  or  with  one  stamp  of  composition, 
tamed  down  to  a  standard  of  properness,  conse- 
crated by  the  aesthetics  of  some  small  and  proper 
men,  but  using  every  faculty  that  God  ever  gave  to 
the  human  soul — every  faculty  of  thought,  illustra- 
tion, and  speech — hallowing  by  its  fire  all  genius, 
ah1  life,  and  all  nature,  touching  every  thing  and 
illuminating  every  thing ;  so  that  there  is  not  one 
scene  of  domestic  life,  and  not  one  object  of  God's 
outer  world,  to  which  the  tongue  of  Psalmist  or 
Prophet,  or  the  Great  Teacher  Himself,  has  not 
given  a  voice,  and  made  it  speak  to  us  in  sacred 
poetry.  From  the  grass  beneath  the  mower's 


238  THE   TONGUE   OF   FIKE. 

scythe,  or  the  lily  that  a  child  has  plucked — from 
the  bridegroom's  beaming  face,  or  nursing  mo- 
ther's bosom — up  to  the  lightning,  the  sun,  and 
the  stars,  every  thing  is  hallowed  by  a  ray  from 
the  Bible,  and  is  hung  round  by  its  sacred  associa- 
tions. 

We  can  not  but  believe  that  this  is  the  inten- 
tional model,  and  that  men  of  all  orders,  with 
talent  of  every  possible  shade,  are  meant  to  be 
employed  in  God's  holy  ministry ;  and  that,  there- 
fore, any  narrower  view,  founded  either  upon  the 
ideal  of  some  prominent  example  in  one  class  of 
preaching,  on  the  taste  of  a  given  age,  or  on  any 
notion  whatever  of  classic  style  and  propriety,  is 
but  an  invention  to  cramp  and  trammel  that  which 
must  everlastingly  be  free — the  utterance  of  men 
who  come  to  speak  to  us  of  all  things  infinite. 

On  the  other  hand,  that  which  now-a-days  is 
called  intellectualism  does  not  appear  so  much  to 
lie  in  the  possession  and  exercise  of  superior  powers, 
as  in  the  art  of  casting  common  things  in  elaborate 
molds,  and  robing  every  familiar  truth,  which,  in  a 
plain  garb,  all  would  recognize  as  an  old  friend,  in 
such  array  that  those  who  do  not  look  closely  may 
take  it  for  a  distinguished  stranger.  It  is  true  that 
thoughts  which  outgrow  the  ordinary  stature  will 
naturally  drape  themselves  nobly ;  but  all  haze,  or 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    239 

extravagance,  in  the  style  of  wise  men,  will  be  in 
spite  of  themselves.  They  will  ever  use  their  best 
endeavors,  first  to  clear  their  ideas  in  their  own 
minds,  and  then  to  render  them  clear  to  others. 
Often  they  will  expend  much  labor  in  reducing 
what  gushed  from  their  pregnant  thoughts,  from 
its  original  splendor  to  something  more  simple  and 
perspicuous,  something  perhaps  less  calculated  to 
dazzle,  but  more  calculated  to  enlighten. 

Some  intellects  are,  among  ordinary  ones,  what 
a  hothouse  is  in  a  garden — a  special  shrine  which 
receives  the  beams  of  heaven,  through  a  medium 
of  crystal,  into  an  atmosphere  of  high  temperature, 
within  which  bloom  fruits  and  flowers  that  would 
not  grow  in  the  ordinary  ground ;  fruits  and  flow- 
ers from  brighter  lands,  and  wondrous  in  our  eyes , 
which,  however,  though  at  first  nursed  there,  may, 
in  time,  be  naturalized,  and  become  familiar  beau- 
ties in  the  homesteads  of  thousands.  It  is  mani- 
festly the  will  of  Providence  to  create  such  intel- 
lects ;  and  even  had  we  not  the  Bible  to  throw 
light  on  His  design,  it  would  certainly  seem  vio- 
lently improbable  that  He  should  create  them  only 
to  fringe  with  flowers  the  world's  broad  and  down- 
ward way.  Some  men  always  treat  richness  of 
style  as  if  it  were  the  result  of  effort ;  just  as  if 
deal,  which  always  owes  its  color  to  art,  were  to 
say  to  mahogany,  or  maple,  or  rosewood,  "What 


240  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

labor  it  must  have  been  to  produce  all  these  shad- 
ings  !"     No  labor  whatever ;  it  is  all  in  the  grain. 

At  the  same  time  the  intellectualism  of  our  day 
is  something  so  entirely  apart  from  the  exercise  of 
power  of  mind,  that  it  seems  to  us  more  like  an  at- 
tempt to  invent  great  intellects,  than  like  an  honest 
endeavor  to  put  out  to  the  best  account  such  in- 
tellect as  God  has  given.  The  use  of  factitious 
power  is  to  make  common  things  loom  up  in  misty 
grandeur,  and  the  use  of  real  power  is  to  make 
strong,  new,  rare,  or  vast  conceptions  clear  to  the 
ordinary  eye,  or  to  bring  what  appeared  cold  in- 
tellectual abstractions  home  to  the  common  heart 
If  viewed  only  as  a  specimen  of  natural  power,  how 
wonderful  the  efiect  of  that  one  stroke  by  which 
the  simplest  man  in  Chistendom,  from  the  time  of 
our  Lord  down  to  this  day,  has  been  enabled  to 
see  in  the  fair  drapery  of  a  lily  a  pledge  of  provi- 
dential care  for  his  clothing,  and  to  hear,  in  the 
glee-chirp  of  a  sparrow,  a  pledge  of  the  same  care 
in  feeding  him  and  his  children !  Whatever  is  used 
with  a  view  to  clear  Divine  trnth  to  men's  con- 
ceptions, to  enforce  Divine  law  on  the  conscience, 
or  to  commend  Divine  love  to  their  hearts,  that 
will  the  Spirit  work  with  and  quicken ;  but  what- 
ever is  used  merely  to  excite  surprise  or  admiration 
at  the  powers  of  the  speaker,  must  be  forsaken  by 
that  sacred  Power  which  moves,  never  to  glorify 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    241 

one  man  in  the  eye  of  another,  but  to  reveal  the 
things  of  God  to  His  wandering  creatures. 

It  is  very  probable  that  not  a  few  deceive  them- 
selves by  Burke's  idea  of  sublimity,  to  the  effect 
that  a  clear  idea  is  but  another  name  for  a  little 
idea ;  a  notion  which  he  supports  by  quoting  the 
vision  of  Eliphaz,  and  ascribing  the  sense  of  the 
sublime  which  that  description  at  once  conveys,  to 
the  haze  and  mystery  wherewith  the  subject  is  in- 
vested. But  he  loses  sight  of  the  cardinal  fact, 
that  the  mystery  lies  not  in  the  medium,  but  in  the 
object.  In  language  clear  as  the  light  of  heaven, 
that  object  is  presented  to  the  mind;  and,  gazing 
through  that  pure  and  illuminated  medium,  we  see 
what  can  be  seen  of  the  object.  That  is  only 
enough  to  tell  us  that  it  is  no  ordinary  thing,  but 
some  mysterious  being,  an  index  of  a  whole  world 
of  in  visible  spirits:  and  this  it  is  which  carries  with 
it  the  idea  of  the  awful  and  infinite,  and,  therefore, 
of  the  sublime.  Had  he  said  that  complete  com- 
prehension in  our  mind  argued  a  finite  object,  he 
would  undoubtedly  have  been  correct ;  but,  in  or- 
der that  our  impression  of  the  infinity  of  an  object 
may  be  deep,  some  token  of  infinity  must  be  clear. 

Let  those,  then,  who  would  wield  a  power  over 

us  present  to  our  minds  objects  so  great,  if  they 

will,  that  we  can  only  catch  a  glimpse  of  some  lower 

or  hinder  part,  but  let  that  glimpse  be  such  as  to 

16 


242  THE  TONGUE    OF   FIRE. 

convey  to  us  an  intimation  of  the  whole  as  clearly 
as  any  stray  flash  of  morning  light  carries  with  it 
the  whole  idea  of  sun  and  sky.  Let  their  great 
thoughts  be  robed  in  any  language,  however  simple, 
or  however  gorgeous,  provided  only  that  it  be 
clear,  that  the  medium  obscure  not  our  view  of  the 
object  to  be  seen,  and  so  confuse  our  sense  either 
of  its  nature  or  dimensions ;  and  provided  also  it  be 
plain,  that  their  ruling  idea  is  not  a  literary  but  a 
religious  one,  not  to  "  acquit  themselves  well,"  and 
please  their  audience,  but  to  produce  instant  and 
lasting  religious  impressions.  Let  them  bring  before 
our  souls  the  heights,  the  depths,  the  lengths,  the 
breadths  of  God's  revealed  glories ;  and,  whether 
they  be  plain  in  style  as  the  homeliest  peasant  who 
passes  our  door,  without  one  poetic  idea  in  his 
mind,  or  one  poetic  phrase  in  his  vocabulary,  ex- 
cept those  that  his  Bible  has  given  to  him — and 
many  such  plain  men  will  ever  be  employed  in  the 
most  eminent  and  glorious  works  of  God — or 
whether  all  their  expressions  have  the  glow  of 
suDerhuman  fervor,  or  the  luster  of  superhuman 
imagination,  rivaling,  in  its  wealth  of  imagery,  in 
its  purple,  its  scarlet,  its  gold,  its  precious  stones, 
its  frankincense,  and  its  myrrh,  the  Prophets  of 
old,  they  will  produce  upon  us  healthy  effects,  will 
feed  our  spirits  with  angels'  food,  or  enamor  oui 
contemplations  with  God's  providence,  His  work  of 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    243 

grace,  or  His  eternal  mansions  provided  for  those 
who  love  Him. 

We  repeat  it,  that  it  is  not  from  any  peculiar 
style,  whether  it  be  extreme  plainness,  or  high 
elaboration,  or  what  else,  that  we  expect  the  minis- 
try to  acquire  a  world-renewing  power.  Let  the 
style  be  ruled  by  every  man's  natural  endowments ; 
but,  whatever  these  be,  let  them  all  be  employed  in 
the  one  direction  of  carrying  out  an  embassy  from 
God  to  the  souls  of  sinful  men.  The  greater  the 
variety  of  talent  and  of  style,  the  more  will  the 
pulpit  be  like  the  Bible — the  more  effectually  will 
its  work  be  done ;  but  let  no  form  of  talent  be  ever 
accepted  instead  of  power.  For  we  must  have 
power — power  which  the  godly  will  welcome  as 
meet  to  minister  grace  to  the  hearers — power  which 
the  ungodly  will  fear  as  certain  to  make  them  un- 
comfortable in  their  sins,  or  else  force  them  to 
harden  their  hearts,  as  if  they  were  refusing  the 
voice  of  God. 

Take  away  from  the  minister  spiritual  power,  and, 
though  you  give  us  the  fairest  deportment,  the 
richest  eloquence,  the  most  subtle  and  fascinating 
speculation,  you  leave  us  without  any  sense  that  we 
are  hearkening  to  a  man  of  God.  Did  the  multi- 
tudes of  the  Christian  Church  only  set  a  due  esti- 
mate upon  this,  and  rank  propriety  and  intellectual- 
ism  in  their  proper  place,  the  idea  that  a  man  could 


J44  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIEE. 

pass  creditably  as  a  minister  merely  by  carefully 
performing  a  ceremony,  or  by  weaving  webs  of 
3urious  and  cunning  language,  would  be  as  far  from 
oxen's  minds  as  is  now  the  idea  that  one  can  obtain 
sredit  as  a  soldier  without  courage,  as  a  painter 
without  skill  of  hand,  or  as  a  musician  without  an 
instinct  of  tune. 

The  lowest  effect  (for  less  is  no  effect  at  all,  or  a 
negative  one)  which  a  Christian  minister  can  pro- 
duce, is  merely  to  please  his  audience ;  next  to  that 
ranks  astonishing  them :  for  both  of  these  effects 
terminate  in  himself;  and  when  a  certain  amount 
of  admiration  has  been  expended  upon  him,  the 
whole  harvest  of  his  labor  is  reaped — a  poor  and 
scanty  harvest,  sufficing  only  to  pass  over  the  pres- 
ent hour,  but  yielding  no  seed  for  future  sowing,  no 
store  for  time  to  come.  The  creature  who  covets 
and  earns  the  reward  of  being  counted  "  an  accepta- 
ble preacher" — a  miserable  praise,  fit  only  for  an 
impotent  and  soulless  discourser — but  shakes  no 
sinner's  heart,  brings  back  to  no  father's  arms  a 
prodigal  son,  cheers  no  mother's  soul  by  the  con- 
version of  her  children,  nor  ever  makes  a  believer 
feel  that  his  preaching  has  formed  a  new  and  happy 
era  in  his  spiritual  life,  may  spin  fine  paragraphs  for 
the  winding-sheet  of  souls  that  are  dying  under  his 
hands ;  may  perform  over  dead  souls  the  solemni- 
ties of  "  Christian  burial ;"  but  when  the  body  dies 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    245 

too,  and  then  when  the  trumpet  sounds,  and  the 
graves  are  opened,  what  reward  will  crown  his 
resurrection  ? 

As  no  variety  of  talent  is  effectual  for  the  ends 
of  the  ministry  without  spiritual  power,  so,  when 
accompanied  by  that  power,  every  form  of  talent 
is.  The  refined  are  ready  to  demand  a  certain 
chastened  style,  in  which,  above  all  things,  there 
shall  be  no  extravagance  either  in  composition  or  in 
delivery.  On  the  other  hand,  the  poor  are  slow  to 
recognize  power  unless  it  be  accompanied  by  strength 
of  voice  and  physical  vehemence.  Some  will  admit 
of  little  value  in  what  is  only  exhortational  or 
declamatory;  others,  again,  can  not  imagine  that 
close  argument,  though  it  may  enlighten,  shall  ever 
awaken  or  convert :  and  thus  most  persons  are  in 
danger  of  forming  a  narrow  ideal  circle,  within 
which  they  would  have  the  Spirit  to  co-operate 
with  the  agency  of  man. 

We  are  often  told  with  great  earnestness  what  is 
the  best  style  for  preaching ;  but  the  fact  is,  that 
what  would  be  the  very  best  style  for  one  man 
would  perhaps  be  the  worst  possible  for  another 
In  the  most  fervid  declamation,  the  deepest  prhv 
ciples  may  be  stated  and  pressed  home ;  in  the 
calmest  and  most  logical  reasoning,  powerful  motives 
may  be  forced  close  upon  the  feelings ;  in  discussing 
eome  general  principle,  precious  portions  of  the  text 


246  THE   TONGUE    OF   FIRE. 

of  Scripture  may  be  elucidated  ;  and  in  simple  ex- 
position, general  principles  may  be  effectively  set 
forth.  Let  but  the  powers  given  to  any  man  play 
with  their  full  force,  aided  by  all  the  stores  of 
Divine  knowledge  which  continuous  acquisitions 
from  its  fountain  and  its  purest  channels  can  obtain 
for  him,  the  fire  being  present — the  fire  of  the 
Spirit's  power  and  influence — spiritual  effects  will 
result. 

The  discussion  about  style  amounts  very  much 
to  a  discussion  whether  the  rifle,  the  carbine,  the 
pistol,  or  the  cannon,  is  the  best  weapon.  Each  is 
best  in  its  place.  The  great  point  is,  that  every 
one  shall  use  the  weapon  best  suited  to  him,  that 
he  charge  it  well,  and  see  that  it  is  in  a  condition 
to  strike  fire.  The  criticisms  which  we  often  hear 
amount  to  this:  We  admit  that  such-an-one  is  a 
good  exhortational  preacher,  or  a  good  doctrinal 
preacher,  or  a  good  practical  preacher,  or  a  good 
expository  preacher ;  but  because  he  has  not  the 
qualities  of  another — qualities,  perhaps,  the  very 
opposite  of  his  own — we  think  lightly  of  him. 
That  is,  we  admit  that  the  carbine  is  a  good 
carbine  ;  but  because  it  is  not  a  rifle,  we  condemn 
it ;  and  because  the  rifle  is  not  a  cannon,  we  con- 
demn it. 

Nothing  can  more  directly  tend  to  waste  of 
power,  than  the  attempt  to  divert  the  mind  from 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    247 

its  natural  course  of  action  into  one  for  which  it  i^ 
unfitted.  Instead  of  resorting  to  this  with  the  idea 
of  forming  all  after  some  pre-conceived  model,  it 
would  be  better  to  teach  all  to  recognize  in  the 
variety  of  individual  character  another  proof  of  the 
manifold  wisdom  of  God. 

Sometimes  it  is  remarkable  how  small  an  amount 
of  intellectual  or  literary  power  is  combined  with 
considerable,  or  even  commanding,  spiritual  power. 
A  man  who  by  natural  talent  would  impress  an 
audience  less  than  most  men,  yet  by  the  superior 
unction  of  the  Spirit  may  produce  religious  impres- 
sions, and  raise  up  religious  fruit,  such  as  wiser  and 
greater  men  might  envy.  Possessing  this,  his  other 
defects  are  of  comparatively  little  importance.  A 
general  may  have  many  defects  in  his  character, 
temper,  and  habits,  without  losing  command  over 
his  men :  but  if  his  defects  be  unsoldierly — if,  above 
all,  he  lacks  courage,  then  inevitably  does  his  con- 
trol over  them  decline.  So  a  statesman  may  have 
a  thousand  defects  not  directly  affecting  statesman- 
ship, and  yet  retain  his  ascendancy  over  the  mind 
of  the  nation  ;  but  let  him  show  a  lack  of  political 
sagacity,  and  at  once  his  ascendancy  is  gone.  So 
if  a  Minister  of  the  Gospel  be  justly  described  as 
"  dry ;"  that  is,  if  he  give  godly  and  candid  hearers 
the  impression  that  he  habitually  delivers  Divine 
truths  without  any  unction  which  either  moves  his 


248  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIEE. 

own  soul,  or  those  of  others ;  the  fault  is  fatal.  It 
is  what  cowardice  is  in  a  soldier,  folly  in  a  states- 
man, or  lameness  in  a  runner.  The  hold  of  such 
an  one  upon  the  conscience  must  hopelessly  pass 
away.  Rather  let  us  have  the  man  of  humblest 
talent,  or  of  plainest  education,  who  can  speak  to 
us  a  word  at  which  the  soul  within  us  thrills,  than 
one  who  possesses  no  such  power,  though  he  can 
wrestle  with  every  prejudice,  or  excite  and  fascinate 
every  faculty. 

The  power  of  which  we  speak  being  neither 
more  nor  less  than  the  co-operation  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  with  the  preacher,  that  which  is  essential  to 
its  presence  must  lie,  first,  in  the  state  of  the 
preacher's  heart ;  secondly,  in  the  staple  of  his  dis- 
course. There  must  be  a  soul  itself  in  communion 
with  the  Holy  One,  and  there  must  be  rays  of  truth 
— God's  own  truth  radiated  from  that  soul  to 
others,  along  which  the  Spirit's  secret  influence 
may  be  communicated  from  heart  to  heart.  The 
preacher  must  first  imbibe  the  Divine  fire,  and  then 
hold  it  in  his  heart,  as  a  Ley  den  jar  will  hold  the 
invisible  electricity ;  and,  this  done,  he  must  have 
a  conductor  to  communicate  it  to  those  who  are  be- 
fore him.  Unless  the  truth  of  God  be  uttered,  and 
aimed  in  the  right  direction,  aimed  at  the  auditory, 
at  their  conscience,  whether  through  the  avenue  of 
the  imagination,  the  understanding,  or  the  emo- 


PERMANENT   BENEFITS  TO   THE  CHTJECH.         249 

tions,  even  had  he  himself  the  power  of  the  Spirit, 
he  could  not  convey  it  to  others.  There  is  but  one 
conductor,  and  that  is  the  Word  of  Life. 

Suppose  that  a  person  wishing  to  send  a  message 
from  London  to  Edinburg  by  lightning,  knows 
how  to  construct  an  electric  battery ;  but  when  he 
comes  to  consider  how  he  will  transmit  the  impulse 
through  hundreds  of  miles,  he  looks  at  an  iron  wire, 
and  says,  "  This  is  dull,  senseless,  cold,  has  no  sym- 
pathy with  light ;  it  is  unnatural,  in  fact,  irrational, 
to  imagine  that  this  dark  thing  can  convey  a  light- 
ning message  in  a  moment."  From  this  he  turns 
and  looks  at  a  prism.  It  glows  with  the  many- 
colored  sunbeam.  He  might  say,  "  This  is  sym- 
pathetic with  light,"  and  in  its  flashing  imagine  that 
he  saw  proof  that  his  message  would  speed  through 
it ;  but  when  he  puts  it  to  the  experiment,  it  proves 
that  the  shining  prism  will  convey  no  touch  of  his 
silent  fire,  but  that  the  dull  iron  will  transmit  it  to 
the  furthest  end  of  the  land.  And  so  with  God's 
holy  truth.  It  alone  is  adapted  to  carry  into  the 
soul  of  man  the  secret  fire  which  writes  before  the 
inner  eye  of  the  soul  a  message  from  the  unseen 
One  in  the  skies.  Other  proposed  conductors  may 
flash  more  in  the  showy  light,  but  they  will  not 
convey  the  invisible  fire. 

Again  we  repeat,  that  this  fire  mav  b«  c  ombined 


250  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

with  any  form  of  talent,  and  with  any  style  of  com- 
position. Who  has  not  seen  a  tranquil  man,  whose 
tones  seldom  rose  to  passion,  and  never  went 
beyond  the  severest  taste  ;  whose  thought,  de- 
meanor, phrases,  all  breathed  a  gentle  and  quiet 
spirit ;  and  yet,  with  the  placid  flow  of  instruction 
or  exposition,  a  heavenly  influence  silently  stole 
along,  stole  into  the  veins  of  the  heart,  diffusing  a 
sacred  glow,  a  desire  to  be  holier,  a  sense  of  near- 
ness to  God,  a  refreshing  of  all  the  good  principles 
within  you,  a  check  and  a  restraint  on  all  the  evil  ? 
Again,  you  have  seen  a  man  who  begins  by  some 
calm  argument,  passes  to  another  point,  closely 
reasoned,  which  again  leads  him  to  another  well- 
pointed  stroke  at  some  error  or  prejudice ;  no  by- 
play of  imagination,  no  home-thrust  to  your  heart, 
but  one  steady  grapple  with  your  intellect — a  dis- 
course which  would  be  pronounced  "  dry,"  were  it 
not  for  a  mysterious  power  which  accompanies  it, 
not  in  the  sentences,  not  in  the  syllogisms,  not  in 
the  action,  not  in  the  tones,  but  a  spirit  infused 
through  it  all,  that  makes  reasoning  turn  into  a 
spiritual  power,  and  seems  to  put  God's  law  into 
your  mind,  and,  at  the  same  t/me,  to  write  it  upon 
your  heart.  Again,  you  see  a  man  who  at  once 
begins  with  pictures,  and  from  history,  from  nature, 
from  the  Bible,  from  science,  he  strikes  up  before 
you  a  succession  of  bewitching  or  affecting  scenes, 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    251 

playing  with  your  fancy  all  the  while  as  a  poet 
might  play  with  it ;  and  yet  every  picture  carries 
some  sacred  impulse  to  your  soul,  and  leaves  a 
moral  lesson  and  moral  strength  behind.  Another 
man  moves  simply  on  in  a  straightforward  state- 
ment of  some  great  doctrine,  opening  out  its 
various  branches,  defining,  setting  guards  upon  his 
definition,  shading  from  possible  misconception, 
setting  up  fine  distinctions,  and  seeming  occupied 
principally  with  putting  a  truth  into  a  compact  and 
portable  shape  in  your  mind ;  but  somehow  this 
one  truth,  which  he  thus  explains  and  defines,  rouses 
within  your  breast  the  voices  of  all  other  truths, 
and  evokes  an  appeal  from  every  sacred  thing  you 
ever  knew  in  favor  of  holy  living.  Another  as- 
sumes that  you  know  all  that  need  be  known  ;  and, 
seizing  upon  the  truths  that  are  within  you,  upon 
your  conscience  with  its  light,  upon  your  fear,  or 
hope,  or  love,  on  your  instinct  of  self-preservation, 
or  on  some  other  of  the  deathless  principles  of  your 
nature,  he  pours  upon  you  a  succession  of  fervid 
declamation,  exhorting  you  to  that  which  is  right ; 
giving  nothing  to  enlarge  your  knowledge,  nothing 
to  feed  or  even  to  exercise  your  reasoning  powers, 
nothing  to  enrich  the  stores  of  your  fancy,  or  to 
perfect  your  conceptions  of  truth ;  and  yet  his 
declamation  brings  a  holy  power  which  commands 
you  more  than  the  might  of  strong-minded  mon  ; 


252  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

and  good  resolutions  and  hopes  that  have  often 
been  vanquished  in  days  gone  by,  rise  up  again  at 
the  voice  of  this  simple  man,  and  you  follow  him  to 
the  feet  of  the  Saviour. 

Come,  then,  with  what  voice  thou  wilt  come,  thou 
power-clad  messenger  of  my  Redeemer !  Come 
with  thunder  on  thy  tongue,  or  with  a  sweet  "  harp 
of  ten  strings ;"  come  to  us  simple  as  a  little  child, 
or  wise  as  a  scribe  instructed  of  God ;  but,  O  !  let 
us  only  feel  that  fire  in  thy  message  which  lies  not 
in  sentences,  nor  in  tones,  but  in  a  heart  itself  in- 
flamed from  above,  and  pouring  fire  into  our  hearts ! 

Just  as  we  find  all  these  types  of  men  imbued 
with  Divine  power,  so  do  we  find  every  one  of  them 
destitute  of  it.  You  have  the  gentle  man,  far  away 
from  any  thing  extravagant,  never  bringing  upon 
himself  one  word  of  blame,  or  giving  to  his  audi- 
tory one  feeling  of  trouble ;  but,  O !  how  drearily 
years  and  years  pass  over  him ! — precious  years,  yet 
no  souls  are  converted,  no  flocks  grow  larger ;  the 
field  where  he  labors  is  never  white  unto  the  har- 
vest, and  it  is  always  sowing  time  with  him !  Very 
probably  he  is  content  with  this,  and  will  tell  you 
that  in  his  sphere,  though  there  is  nothing  extra- 
ordinary going  forward,  things  are  encouraging. 
Placidly  does  he  pass  on,  although  he  knows  well, 
and  all  who  mark  his  course  know  well,  that  for 


PEEMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHTTBCH.        253 

long,  long  years  it  would  be  hard  to  say  what  spir- 
itual life  has  flourished  under  his  hand.  So,  again, 
you  may  find  the  reasoner,  clear,  cogent,  and  forc- 
ible, enlisting  you  on  his  side,  perhaps  exciting  you 
against  every  thing  which  opposes  his  system ;  but 
no  sinners  are  turned  into  saints  by  his  reasoning ; 
yet  he  reposes  well  pleased  upon  the  miserable  re- 
sult of  having  argued  his  point  ably — an  advocate 
who  has  shown  the  jury  that  he  is  a  master  of  law, 
but  has  lost  his  client's  life.  And  you  may  find  the 
expositor,  who  will  open  up  paragraph  after  para- 
graph with  rare  subtlety  of  analysis,  while  his  audi- 
tory learn  something  of  the  Word  of  God,  and  so 
far  become  more  prepared  to  be  good  Christians,  if 
once  converted;  but  with  his  exposition  no  con- 
verting power  ever  comes :  perhaps,  indeed,  he  does 
not  think  that  it  is  his  calling  to  convert  sinners. 
You  may  also  find  the  man  of  imagination,  who 
plays  brilliantly  upon  the  various  instruments  of  na- 
ture and  science.  His  auditory  are  dazzled,  per- 
haps enraptured  ;  but  who  among  them  goes  home 
to  his  closet  to  seek  his  Saviour,  or  rises  up  in  after 
life  to  bless  the  preacher  ?  He  was  sent  to  fight, 
but  he  played  off  fireworks  before  the  enemy,  and, 
instead  of  flying  or  falling,  they  only  said,  "  How 
grand !"  The  declaimer  you  may  hear,  too,  whose 
exhortations  run  apparently  to  the  one  point  of  pro- 
ducing a  practical  result ;  you  have  vociferation, 


254  THE  TOXGUE   OF   FIRE. 

and  the  swell  and  throe  of  great  vehemence ;  but 
it  is  like  the  hollow  report  of  a  cannon  without 
shot. 

This  absence  of  power  is  sometimes  so  clear  that 
the  soul  that  has  come  to  the  house  of  God  seeking 
bread,  painfully  feels  that  it  is  getting  but  a  stone ; 
and  never  is  that  feeling  so  painful  as  when  all  that 
ought  to  attend  upon  spiritual  power  is  there — the 
truth,  well  understood  and  well  stated — all  the  lin- 
eaments and  outward  form  that  would  lead  us  to 
expect  life ;  but,  when  we  draw  near,  there  is  no 
breath  in  it.  Sometimes  one  may  see  that  this  soul- 
less thing  is  not  a  wax  figure  which  never  breathed, 
but  a  corpse  from  which  the  life  has  gone.  The 
truths,  now  uttered  with  such  impotence,  once 
thrilled  through  men  as  they  fell  from  those  lips  ; 
the  appeals  which  now  grate,  like  a  chime  of  cracked 
bells,  once  carried  multitudes  before  them.  In  days 
gone  by  many  rose  up  to  bless  this  man  as  a  mes- 
senger of  God ;  to-day  his  words  are  as  a  tale  twice 
told.  Perhaps,  conscious  of  the  loss  of  the  real 
power,  he  endeavors  to  compensate  for  it  by  a 
greater  force  of  physical  oratory,  spurring  himself 
to  impetuosity,  or  swelling  to  lofty  and  solemn  im- 
pressiveness  ;  but  it  is  only  as  when  a  ship  in  a  calm 
makes  her  sails  bulge  by  rolling ;  they  flap  and  rus- 
tle, but  there  is  no  strength  in  them,  as  when  filled 
by  the  silent  wind  they  bore  the  vessel  onward. 


PEBMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.   255 

Every  one  of  the  effects  flowing  from  the  opera- 
tion  of  spiritual  power  in  the  ministry  is  indescrib- 
ably precious ;  and  it  must  be  grievous  to  God,  as 
it  is  manifestly  injurious  to  man,  to  underrate  any 
kind  of  fruit.  One  professes  to  be  so  bent  on  attain- 
ing progress  in  the  spiritual  life,  that  preaching 
which  is  effectual  only  to  the  conversion  of  sinners, 
is  to  him  elementary  and  poor.  Another  is  so  ex- 
clusively occupied  with  the  dark  condition  of  the 
unsaved,  that  preaching  which  tends  only  to  ripen 
the  holiness  of  those  already  converted,  is  to  him 
beside  the  mark.  One  specially  looks  for  preaching 
which  will  tell  upon  the  young ;  and  another  for 
what  will  content  men  of  years  and  experience. 
But  every  one  ought  to  learn  that  each  variety  of 
usefulness  is  far  too  estimable  to  be  lightly  dealt 
with.  He  who  is  in  any  way  used  as  an  instrument 
to  benefit  the  souls  of  any  of  my  fellow-pilgrims 
here,  ought  to  be  cherished  by  my  heart  as  a  pre- 
cious friend  of  my  own. 

Where  real  spiritual  power  exists,  it  will  not  be 
wholly  confined  to  one  class  of  effects.  He  who 
leads  on  believers  to  brighter  holiness,  will  surely 
lead  sinners  to  see  somewhat  of  the  sinfulness  of 
their  sins ;  and  he  who  is  the  means  of  turning  a 
sinner  from  the  error  of  his  ways,  is  the  means,  in 
that  very  act,  of  aiding  the  progress  of  all  those 
around  him :  for  each  one  detached  from  the  world 


256  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

and  ranked  on  the  side  of  godliness,  becomes  a  help 
to  the  general  cause  of  Christianity  in  the  land. 

In  our  own  age  and  nation,  we  feel  no  hesitation 
in  saying,  that  the  particular  form  of  spiritual  power 
for  which  we  have  most  crying  need,  is  that  where- 
by men  who  know  the  truth  are  brought  to  the 
point  of  deciding  for  God,  and  setting  out  in  earn- 
est on  the  way  to  heaven.  We  are  in  danger  of 
laboring  as  if  the  ground  still  needed  to  be  sown  ; 
while  the  fields  are  white  unto  the  harvest,  and  need 
but  a  reaper.  We  are  in  danger  of  preaching  as  if 
the  people  were  either  all  serving  God,  or  were  all 
so  far  away  from  the  possibility  of  being  converted 
soon,  that  they  must  be  approached  as  from  a  dis- 
tance, and  principles  laid  down  and  left  to  work 
which  may  bring  forth  fruit  after  some  long  time. 
Whereas  the  fact  is,  that  everywhere  the  ground  is 
sown.  We  meet  with  comparatively  few  men  in 
whose  minds  there  is  not  enough  of  truth  to  awaken 
their  conscience  and  point  them  toward  the  Cross, 
were  that  truth  only  brought  home  to  their  hearts 
with  power.  Men  fitted  as  instruments  to  use  what 
the  people  believe  and  know,  in  order  to  bring  them 
to  a  decision  for  God,  are  those  whom  the  interests 
of  our  generation  most  loudly  call  for.  Taught  by 
Christianity,  but  led  captive  by  sin,  men  are  going 
downward  by  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands — at 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    257 

once  in  the  light  and  in  the  dark,  knowing  their 
Master's  will,  but  doing  it  not — downward  to  the ' 
punishment  of  many  stripes.  He,  then,  who  can 
bring  those  multitudes  to  stop  and  think,  to  feel 
what  they  believe,  to  act  on  what  they  feel,  to  cry, 
"  Lord,  save  me,  I  perish,"  he  is  most  distinguished 
and  most  blessed  of  all  the  servants  whom  the  Mas- 
ter honoreth. 

To  heal  the  leper,  to  open  the  eyes  of  the  blind, 
to  make  the  lame  walk,  and  the  paralytic  strong, 
were  great  and  blessed  works;  but  all  these  suf- 
ferers were  living  men ;  and  great  as  was  the  work 
of  healing  them,  to  raise  the  dead  was  greater  far. 
Blessed  are  ye  among  men,  whom  our  Lord  and 
Master  honors  to  help  or  heal,  or  restore  any  of 
those  souls  which  are  living,  but  not  in  perfect 
soundness ;  but  trebly  blessed  art  thou,  my  brother, 
whose  joyful  lot  it  is  to  stretch  thy  soul  over  a  soul 
that  is  dead,  as  Elisha  stretched  himself  over  the 
dead  son  of  the  Shunamite,  and  to  raise  it  up 
breathing  and  calling  upon  God!  O  for  a  thou- 
sand men  imbued  with  converting  power!  Bet- 
ter they  than  ten  thousand  times  the  number, 
however  gifted,  however  learned,  however  pleas- 
ing, who  are  destitute  of  that  crowning  grace  of 
the  messenger  of  God! 

Our  Lord  said,  "  He  that  believeth  on  Me,  the 
works  that  I  do  shall  he  do  also ;  yea,  and  greater 
17 


258  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIKE. 

works  than  these  shall  he  do,  because  I  go  to  My 
Father."  By  "  greater  works"  He  could  not  mean 
more  wonderful  miracles  ;  for  the  wonders  wrought 
by  His  own  hands  had  reached  the  limits  of  pos- 
sibility. Greater  miracles  than  raising  the  dead, 
and  making  the  winds  and  the  seas  obey  Him,  were 
not  to  be  performed.  Besides,  the  "  greater  works" 
to  be  done  are  shown  to  have  some  special  charac- 
ter from  this,  that  they  are  to  exist  in  connection 
with  a  new  order  of  things,  "  Because  I  go  to  My 
Father."  We  are  at  no  loss  as  to  that  which  was 
specially  dependent  on  His  ascension.  It  was  the 
baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  And  we  may  therefore 
reasonably  conclude,  that  the  "  greater  work"  than 
all  the  other  works  which  could  be  done,  was  that 
work  which  He  Himself  from  heaven  announced  to 
His  servant  Paul,  as  the  purpose  of  his  mission, 
"  To  open  their  eyes,  and  to  turn  them  from  dark- 
ness to  light,  and  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto 
God,  that  they  may  receive  forgiveness  of  sins,  and 
inheritance  among  them  which  are  sanctified  by 
mith  that  is  in  Me."  This  was  the  end  of  His 
own  life  and  death,  this  was  the  crown  of  His  own 
glory :  "  Thou  shalt  call  His  name  Jesus  ;  for  He 
shall  save  His  people  from  their  sins."  Only  in 
men  actually  saved  from  their  sins  did  His  soul, 
afflicted  and  smitten,  foresee  the  fruit  of  its  travail, 
wherewith  it  should  be  satisfied.  Only  in  men 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    259 

actually  saved  from  their  sins  while  in  the  flesh, 
while  surrounded  by  temptation,  could  He  foresee 
the  possibility  of  glorifying  His  Father  upon  earth, 
by  His  own  branches  bearing  much  fruit,  by  His 
own  life,  "  the  life  of  Christ,  being  manifest  in  mor- 
tal bodies."  Only  by  this  could  He  see  that  which 
he  so  dearly  purchased,  a  holy  Church  formed  out 
of  Adam's  fallen  sons.  Only  by  this  could  His  own 
especial  joy,  the  joy  set  before  Him,  the  joy  of 
"  bringing  many  sons  to  glory,"  ever  be  secured. 
To  this  one  result  His  whole  work  pointed ;  upon 
this  all  the  interests  of  His  kingdom  turned. 

N~o  glory  of  the  Eternal  One  is  higher  than  this, 
"  MIGHTY  TO  SAVE  ;"  no  name  of  Godhead  more 
adorable  than  that  of  "  SAVIOUR  ;"  no  place  among 
the  servants  of  God  can  be  so  glorious  as  that  of 
an  instrument  of  salvation.  "  He  that  winneth 
souls  is  wise."  "They  that  turn  many  to  right- 
eousness shall  shine  as  the  stars  forever  and  ever." 
Under  the  new  dispensation,  the  Lord's  messengers, 
abundantly  replenished  with  the  Spirit,  having  the 
Cross  for  their  theme  and  the  baptism  of  fire  for 
their  impulse,  were  to  go  forth  as  men  with  whom 
God  would  work,  and  would  accompany  His  word 
with  signs  following  it.  It  was  great  to  cast  out 
devils  from  the  body ;  it  is  greater  to  cast  them  out 
of  souls  and  out  of  society.  It  was  great  to  heal 
the  sick  or  to  feed  the  poor ;  it  is  greater  to  heal 


260  THE  TONGUE    OF   FIRE. 

the  sources  of  disease  and  want,  by  turning  sinful 
hearts  to  purity.  He  around  whom  are  continually 
springing  up  new  converts  from  sin  to  holiness — he, 
the  sound  of  whose  voice  many  bless  as  having  been 
to  them  the  trump  of  God,  who  at  the  great  day 
will  have  for  his  crown  of  rejoicing  tens,  or  hun- 
dreds, or  thousands,  to  whom  many  others  were 
"  teachers,"  but  only  he  a  "  father" — he  rises  to 
such  joy  and  dignity  that  he  may  look  back  upon 
the  best  and  most  honored  of  God's  ancient  serv- 
ants, and  feel  that,  in  comparison  with  them,  he  has 
only  to  be  thankful  for  his  own  more  blessed  lot. 
He  need  not  envy  Moses  his  rod,  or  David  his  harp, 
or  Elijah  his  mantle,  or  Solomon  his  wisdom ;  for 
his  own  crown  and  his  own  prize  are  the  highest  to 
which  man  may  aspire.  How  close  the  servant  is 
brought  to  the  Master !  The  Master  is  Saviour, 
the  servant  the  instrument  of  saving ! 

When  we  speak  of  ministerial  power,  we  are 
never  to  be  understood  as  implying  that  any  amount 
of  power  in  the  minister  will  necessarily  subdue  his 
hearers.  What  may  be  fully  relied  upon  as  the  re- 
sult of  power  dwelling  in  the  minister,  is  that  he 
will  make  every  hearer  feel  that  a  spiritual  power  is 
grappling  with  him,  and  bringing  him  either  to 
yield  to  the  voice  that  warns  him,  or  to  set  up  a 
conscious  resistance.  "  Almost  thou  persuadest  me," 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    261 

is  the  language  of  one  who  can  scarcely  prevent 
himself  from  yielding  to  the  force  that  is  impelling 
him  toward  Christ.  Felix  trembled,  and  said,  "  Go 
thy  way  for  this  time;  when  I  have  a  conven- 
ient season,  I  will  call  for  thee."  Here  is  a  man 
consciously  under  the  impulse  of  a  power  which  is 
urging  him  to  a  result  that  he  dreads;  and,  to  es- 
cape its  influence,  he  adopts  the  ordinary  plan  of 
"  putting  off  for  a  while."  But  the  very  awaken- 
ing of  this  conscious  resistance,  the  setting-up  of 
this  struggle  in  the  breasts  of  men,  is  in  itself  a 
proof  of  power ;  and  he  who  can  do  this,  although 
he  will  have  his  Agrippas  and  his  Felixes  over  whom 
to  mourn,  will  undoubtedly  have  numbers  of  others 
over  whom  to  rejoice. 

A  farmer  who  all  his  life-time  has  been  sowing, 
but  never  brought  one  shock  of  corn  safe  home ;  a 
gardener  who  has  ever  been  pruning  and  training, 
but  never  brought  one  basket  of  fruit  away :  a  mer- 
chant who  has  been  trading  all  his  life,  but  never 
concluded  one  year  with  clear  profit ;  a  lawyer  who 
has  had  intrusted  to  him,  for  years  and  years,  the 
most  important  causes,  and  has  never  carried  one ; 
the  doctor  who  has  been  consulted  by  thousands  in 
disease,  and  has  never  brought  one  patient  back  to 
health ;  the  philosopher  who  has  been  propounding 
principles  all  his  life,  and  attempting  experiments 
every  day,  but  has  never  once  succeeded  in  a  do- 


262  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

monstratiou ; — all  these  would  be  abashed  and  hu- 
miliated men.  They  would  walk  through  the  world 
with  their  heads  low,  they  would  acknowledge 
themselves  to  be  abortions,  they  would  not  dare  to 
look  up  among  those  of  their  own  professions ;  and 
as  for  others  regarding  them  with  respect,  pity 
would  be  all  they  could  give.  Yet,  alas!  are  there 
not  cases  to  be  found  wherein  men  whose  calling  it 
is  to  heal  souls,  pass  years  and  years,  and  seldom,  if 
ever,  can  any  fruit  of  their  labors  be  seen  ?  Yet 
they  hold  up  their  heads,  and  have  good  reasons  to 
give  why  they  are  not  useful ;  and  those  reasons 
generally  lie,  not  in  themselves,  but  somewhere 
else — in  the  age,  the  neighborhood,  the  agitation  or 
the  apathy,  the  ignorance  or  the  over-education,  the 
want  of  Gospel  light  or  the  commonness  of  Gospel 
light,  or  some  other  reason  why  the  majority  of 
those  who  hear  them  continue  unconverted,  and 
why  they  should  look  on  in  repose,  without  smiting 
upon  their  breasts,  and  crying  day  and  night  to 
God  to  breathe  a  power  upon  them  whereby  they 
might  awaken  those  that  sleep.  Probably  they 
have  wise  things  to  say  about  the  undesirableness 
of  being  too  anxious  about  fruit,  and  about  the  ad- 
vantage of  the  work  going  on  steadily  and  slowly, 
rather  than  seeking  for  an  excitement,  and  a  rush 
of  converts.  But  while  they  are  thus  dozing,  sin- 
ners are  going  to  hell. 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    263 

It  is  pitiable  to  see  a  minister  who  has  all  his  life, 
when  judged  by  the  fruit  of  his  labor,  been  destitute 
of  the  power  of  the  Spirit ;  but  there  is  something 
even  more  touching  to  see,  as,  alas !  sometimes  we 
do  see — one  who  in  his  early  days  had  truly  a  gift 
of  God  in  him,  becoming  weak,  like  other  men, 
without  unction,  and  without  fruit.  The  gift,  not 
stirred  up,  has  passed  away;  the  power,  not  re- 
newed and  renewed  again  by  fresh  supplies,  has  for- 
saken him.  Perhaps,  desirous  of  more  efficiency,  he 
has  heaped  up  knowledge — not  too  much  knowl- 
edge, for  none  can  have  too  much ;  but  he  has  not 
maintained  a  due  proportion  between  his  acquisi- 
tions of  knowledge  and  his  acquisition  of  spiritual 
power.  He  is  like  one  who  would  pour  coals  upon 
a  feeble  fire  with  the  idea  of  making  a  great  one, 
until  the  few  live  coals  were  smothered  under  a 
black  mass.  Perhaps  another  has  gone  just  to  the 
opposite  extreme ;  and,  fearing  to  damp  his  lively 
fire,  has  allowed  it  to  flame  on,  without  constantly 
feeding  it  with  truth,  and  knowledge,  and  experi- 
ence, and  thought;  and  his  fire  has  burned  out. 
Perhaps  another,  beginning  to  distrust  his  simple 
weapon,  which  had  no  adornments,  and  could  only 
strike  right  home,  has  got  for  himself  a  jeweled 
sword  with  a  golden  blade,  but  finds  that  the  edge 
is  turned  by  the  least  resistance.  Perhaps  another, 
who  used  to  thunder  as  a  second  Baptist,  and  make 


264  THE  TONGUE    OF   FIRE. 

the  truths  of  the  eternal  law,  of  the  resurrection,  of 
judgment,  and  of  the  world  to  come,  ring  in  the 
ears  of  slumbering  souls  with  a  supernatural  and 
awakening  power,  begins  to  desire  something  more 
alluring,  less  distressing  to  the  sensitive,  more  ac- 
ceptable to  the  sedate,  more  "  attractive,"  as  the 
phrase  is ;  and  now  you  may  find  him  an  absurd 
combination  of  strength  and  feebleness — a  gunner 
working  heavy  guns,  but  with  silver  barrels,  and 
scented  powder,  and  balls  of  frozen  honey. 

In  the  progress  of  a  man's  life  it  will  often 
happen  that  great  variations  appear  in  his  useful- 
ness; but,  if  he  walk  with  God,  maintain  his  in- 
tegrity, and  make  steady  progress  in  knowledge 
and  in  faith,  although  the  form  of  his  usefulness 
may  change,  it  will  never  change  into  uselessness. 
When  the  flush  and  glow  of  youthful  ardor  disap- 
pear, they  will  be  replaced,  not  by  vapidness  or 
tameness,  but  by  more  of  the  unction  that  elevates 
and  hallows.  There  is  a  law  of  mechanics,  the 
moral  counterpart  of  which  we  see  in  such  men, 
that  what  is  lost  in  velocity  is  gained  in  power. 
And  yet  such  men,  though  they  may  be  blessed 
with  great  usefulness,  if  they  see  not  conversions 
such  as  rejoiced  their  earlier  days,  will  ever  look 
back  with  yearning  and  humiliation.  Never  will 
they  fail  to  honor,  above  all  their  brethren,  those 
whom  God  honors  by  making  them  the  instruments 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHTTBCH.         265 

of  many  conversions,  or  to  covet,  with  a  coveting 
more  eager  than  they  could  feel  for  any  other  dis- 
tinction, or  joy,  or  gift,  the  restoration  to  them  of 
the  power  to  persuade  sinners  to  be  reconciled  to 
God. 

A  more  pitiable  thing  can  not  be  than  to  see  a 
man  who,  himself  destitute  of  ministerial  power, 
not  only  is  unconscious  how  miserable  a  creature 
he  is,  but  is  even  ready  to  make  light  of  the  useful- 
ness of  others ;  and,  in  his  ordinary  conversation,  to 
set  down  those  whom  the  Lord  honors  as  the  in- 
struments of  converting  sinners,  below  what  he 
calls  "  intellectual"  men,  fine  soliloquizers,  or  curi- 
ous speculators,  who  deal  out  dainties  from  the  pul- 
pit, but  do  no  work  that  will  live  when  they  are 
dead.  This  style  of  depreciating  the  useful  and  the 
earnest,  painful  in  any  one,  becomes  appalling  when 
it  falls  from  the  lips  of  a  man  who  at  one  stage  of 
his  own  life  was  remarkably  useful,  but  who  has  lost 
his  fire;  and  who,  instead  of  mourning,  and  seeking 
to  recover  it,  can  even  make  light  of  those  who 
have  retained  theirs.  "  It  is  not  hard  to  convert 
servant-maids,"  and  such  depreciating  expressions, 
may  lightly  drop  from  an  unthinking  lip,  but  they 
will  affect  hearers,  and  will  be  remembered  in  the 
great  day ;  and  how  differently  will  the  two  men 
appear — the  one  whose  humble  labor  has  been  the 
means  of  converting  servant-maids,  and  the  one 


266  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIBE. 

whose  envy  and  whose  wit  were  vented  in  making 
light  of  the  work ! 

O,  let  those  of  us  whose  history  too  plainly  tells 
that  no  extraordinary  power  of  God  has  rested 
upon  us;  who  can  look  back  to  years  of  labor 
which,  if  not  absolutely  barren,  yet,  in  comparison 
with  what  others  have  reaped,  must  be  called 
years  of  barrenness — let  us  not  fail  to  bless  and  to 
honor,  in  our  own  hearts,  those  who  have  been  in 
the  mean  time  doing  us  good  by  the  news  that  has 
reached  us,  every  now  and  then,  of  the  fruit  of 
their  labor.  Above  all,  let  us  look  back  on  our 
years  of  barrenness  with  most  tender  and  contrite 
humiliation,  crying  earnestly  to  God  to  take  away 
our  reproach  from  among  men,  and  to  give  us 
many,  many  children ! 

A  minister  can  never  be  responsible  for  success, 
but  he  is  responsible  for  power ;  responsible  not 
only  for  presenting  the  truth  to  the  people — in 
which  many  seem  to  think  that  their  responsibility 
terminates — but  responsible  also  for  this,  that  the 
truth  he  presents  be  not  dry,  but  accompanied  with 
gome  energy  of  the  Spirit.  If  the  Spirit  be  in  the 
man,  shining  upon  his  soul  with  the  light  of  God, 
more  or  less  of  holy  fire  will  go  with  the  word.  A 
frame  having  muscular  strength,  without  nervous 
energy — a  countenance  with  linear  grace,  without 
expression — a  needle  for  the  compass,  without  mag- 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    267 

netism,  are  not  more  defective  than  is  the  state- 
ment of  religious  truth  without  the  accompanying 
power  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  This  power  was  pre- 
supposed in  the  man's  first  entrance  on  the  ministry. 
He  stands  there  by  virtue  of  his  solemn  declaration 
before  God  and  men  that  he  felt  it  in  his  heart ;  and 
he  is  bound  to  stir  up  the  gift  of  God  within  him, 
to  keep  his  lamp  trimmed,  and  his  light  burning, 
and  evermore  to  be  replenishing  with  holy  oil. 

This  power  has  but  one  source — the  Spirit  of 
God  in  the  soul  of  man.  It  is  the  one  thing  that 
can  not  be  feigned.  A  hypocrite  may  possess  the 
truth,  and  clearly  explain,  and  powerfully  urge,  and 
passionately  apply  it.  He  may  feign  tenderness, 
feign  ardor,  feign  all  the  passions,  but  he  can  not 
feign  the  power  that  searches  the  conscience,  that 
makes  men  feel,  "  God  is  in  you  of  a  truth,"  that 
leads  them  in  the  silence  of  their  own  closets  to  wet 
their  couch  with  their  tears,  and  spend  long  nights 
in  repenting  before  God.  You  may  as  well  attempt 
to  feign  life  in  a  dead  eye,  or  music  in  a  cracked 
voice,  as  to  feign  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  a 
soul  that  does  not  habitually  wait  at  the  throne  of 
grace,  until  endued  with  power  from  on  high. 

Those  of  us  who  are  manifestly  not  endued  with 
great  power,  who  can  not  flatter  ourselves  that  any 
one  looks  upon  us  as  blessed  messengers  of  God, 


268  THE  TONGUE   OP  FIRE. 

or  in  any  light  higher  than  that  of  well-meaning  and 
useful  men,  by  whose  ministry,  perhaps,  now  and 
then,  at  rare  intervals,  such  a  thing  may  be  heard 
of  as  a  shiner  being  converted,  and  who  yet  feel  dis- 
inclined to  take  any  blame  to  our  own  heart  on  ac- 
count of  our  barrenness,  can  best  judge  how  much 
time  has  been  spent  in  our  closets,  in  deploring  the 
state  of  the  souls  that  are  perishing  under  our  sight, 
in  strong  crying  and  tears  to  God  for  their  deliver- 
ance, in  importuning  and  imploring  that  we  might 
be  robed  with  power,  and  made  mighty  to  blow  an 
awakening  blast,  and  rescue  multitudes  from  the 
grasp  of  the  devil. 

We  can,  each  one  for  himself,  best  tell  whether 
or  not  the  results  of  our  labors  do  very  fairly  cor- 
respond with  the  depth,  intensity,  and  continuity 
of  our  secret  search  after  the  co-working  fire  of  the 
Spirit.  If  on  a  review  it  should  appear  clear  to  us 
that  far,  far  more  might  have  been  done  in  our  pri- 
vate walk  with  God  toward  having  our  own  souls 
imbued  with  the  Spirit  of  Christ  and  of  Christ's 
Apostles,  then  let  each  of  us  conclude  for  himself, 
whether  much  more  might  or  might  not  have  been 
done  to  "  save  those  that  hear  him."  And  should 
the  conclusion  on  our  mind  be  clear  that  more 
might  have  been  done,  much  more — that  it  ought 
to  have  been  done — that  we  are  very  guilty  by  rea- 
son of  supineness,  of  unbelief,  of  feeble  and  ineffec- 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    260 

tual  prayer,  of  duplicity  in  our  aim,  or  of  any  other 
defect  in  the  keeping  our  own  souls  as  God's  embas- 
sadors,  let  our  penitence  be  deep,  our  cry  for  for- 
giveness pressing  and  earnest ;  but  not  for  one  mo- 
ment let  it  take  that  form  which  strangely  unnerves 
and  debilitates  a  man,  namely,  the  state  of  mind  in 
which  one  takes  pleasure  in  talking  of  his  own 
feebleness  and  un worthiness,  or,  at  least,  finds  suffi- 
cient relief  in  talking  of  it.  Rather  let  us  feel  sure 
that  the  God  of  grace  and  mercy  will  hearken  to 
our  voice,  will  answer  our  prayer,  will  forgive  our 
past  unfaithfulness,  will  draw  near  to  us  with  new 
and  gracious  power,  will  enable  us  to  go  forth  as 
giants  refreshed  with  new  wine,  to  bear  away  from 
the  arms  of  the  adversary,  in  triumph  and  with 
shouting,  many  a  lamb  that  is  ready  to  be  torn  to 
pieces. 

We  can  not  be  content  to  look  upon  the  minister 
of  this  actual  hour  as  any  thing  less,  in  the  intention 
of  our  God  and  Saviour,  than  an  instrument  "  of  the 
mighty  power  of  God" — the  power  which  is  unto 
salvation.  We  do  not  expect  the  gift  of  tongues  or 
of  miracles,  because  these  were  not  essential  to  the 
work  of  the  ministry ;  but  the  active  co-operation, 
the  abiding  unction  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is.  If  we 
were  forced  to  believe  either  that  all  the  primitive 
manifestations  of  the  Spirit  were  now  attainable,  or 
that  all  had  now  passed  away,  we  could  a  thousand 


270  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

times  rather  look  for  the  tongues  and  the  miracles, 
with  the  gift  of  prophesying,  than  dismiss  the  hope 
of  this  last  with  that  of  the  other  gifts.  Better  the 
excess  of  faith,  a  thousand  times  better  and  more 
rational,  than  unbelief  in  any  promise  that  stands 
clearly  for  all  generations.  Better  to  suppose  that 
the  Lord  designed  every  sign  and  every  token  of 
His  presence  to  continue  with  His  Church  to  the 
last ;  than  suppose  that  they  were  all  to  be  called 
back,  and  that  the  Christians  of  the  latter  day  were 
to  suffer  a  total  privation  of  the  Holy  Spirit's  minis- 
terial gifts. 

We  will  covet,  earnestly  covet,  the  Lord's  good 
gift  of  prophesying ;  and  we  will  covet,  also,  the 
"  manifestation  of  the  Spirit  to  profit  withal,"  not 
only  in  the  pastors  of  the  Church,  but  in  the  mem- 
bers, giving  to  one  the  word  of  wisdom,  to  another  t 
the  word  of  knowledge,  to  another  the  spirit  of 
grace  and  of  supplications,  that  men  with  fire  in 
their  hearts  may  go  everywhere,  and  publicly  or 
privately  preach  the  word,  the  Lord  working  with 
them,  and  confirming  the  word  by  signs  following. 
Let  us  look  up  and  hope  to  see,  not  one,  or  two,  or 
three,  not  merely  an  occasional  and  extraordinary 
man,  shining  in  the  churches  as  with  a  light  from 
on  high ;  but  let  us  soberly,  and  steadily,  and  in 
prayer,  expect  companies  of  preachers,  each  differ- 
ing from  his  brethren,  yet  all  of  them  manifesting  in 


PERMANENT   BENEFITS   TO   THE   CHURCH.          271 

some  form  or  another  that  an  anointing  from  the 
Holy  One  abides  upon  them,  teaches  them  in  all 
things,  and  enables  them  to  appear  before  men,  not 
only  saying  in  words,  but  by  their  commending 
fruits  saying  to  the  conscience,  "  Now,  then,  we  are 
embassadors  for  Christ,  as  though  God  did  beseech 
you  by  us :  we  pray  you,  in  Christ's  stead,  be  ye 
reconciled  to  God."  One  such  man  is  better  than 
a  thousand,  and  two  of  them  will  put  ten  thousand 
to  flight. 

Intimately  connected  with  the  question  of  minis- 
terial power  is  another  vital  question — whether  or 
not  the  Church  is  to  retain  the  converting  influ- 
ence of  the  Holy  Spirit  on  any  thing  like  the  original 
scale.  Here,  again,  we  do  not  confine  ourselves  to 
combatting  formally  stated  opinions,  but  deal  with 
vague,  undefined,  unexpressed,  or  but  half  express- 
ed, sentiments,  not  embodied  in  the  creed  of  any 
Church,  but  perceptible  in  the  ordinary  tone  equally 
of  religious  conversation,  literature  and  preaching. 
Is  it  not  a  prevalent  state  of  feeling,  that  to  look  for 
a  very  large  number  of  conversions  at  once  is  ex- 
travagant ;  that  for  any  minister  to  expect  a  great 
many  to  be  converted  while  he  is  delivering  the 
sermon  then  in  hand,  argues  a  mind  scarcely  bal- 
anced ;  that  sudden  conversions  have  much  to  be 
said  against  them  ;  that  we  ought  to  be  content  if 


272  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

the  work  of  God  proceed  slowly,  and  to  be  elated 
if  the  good  men  of  any  community  bear  some  re- 
spectable proportion  to  the  numbers  who  forget 
God? 

It  is  manifest  that  the  conversions  effected  by  the 
primitive  Church  were  very  numerous,  compared 
with  her  agencies  and  facilities  ;  varying  greatly  in 
different  times  and  places,  but,  in  the  main,  going 
onward  with  accumulative  power.  The  difference 
between  the  conversion  of  a  Jew  to  the  faith  and 
holiness  of  the  Gospel,  and  the  conversion  of  a  nom- 
inal Christian  to  the  same  faith  and  holiness,  is  a 
difference,  not  of  kind,  but  of  degree  ;  and  the  de 
gree  is  not  so  great  as  might  at  first  sight  be  sup- 
posed. The  Jew  believed  the  oracles  of  God,  and 
the  truths  therein  contained,  as  far  as  he  knew 
them.  So  does  the  nominal  Christian.  Both  hold 
the  truth  in  unrighteousness — the  unrighteousness 
of  frank  rebellion,  or  of  Pharisaical  self-righteous- 
ness. Both  are  brought  to  learn  God's  love  in  re- 
deeming man,  to  repent,  to  believe  on  the  crucified 
Messiah  as  their  Saviour,  and  to  walk  in  fellowship 
with  the  Father  and  the  Son. 

The  conversion  of  a  heathen  involved  much  more 
of  intellectual  enlightenment,  and,  on  the  whole, 
presented  a  greater  difficulty,  and  a  greater  change ; 
but  we  do  not  find  that  the  Apostles  ever  point  out 
any  difference  in  the  operation  of  the  Spirit  in  the 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    273 

conversion  of  a  Jewish  scribe,  and  of  a  heathen 
necromancer,  of  a  Roman  centurion,  and  of  a  widow 
in  Jerusalem.  The  same  mighty  power  convinced 
them  all  of  sin,  of  righteousness,  and  of  judgment, 
and  brought  them  to  a  level  by  the  wounds  of  a 
smitten  spirit :  then — like  those  with  various  mala- 
dies, who  all  came  to  Christ,  and  were  all  healed — 
came  barbarian  and  Scythian,  bond  and  free,  Jew 
and  Greek,  learned  and  unlearned. 

If  we  take  the  hundred  and  twenty  disciples  of 
whom  the  Church  consisted  on  the  Day  of  Pente- 
cost, and  then  take  the  number  of  Christians  before 
the  first  century  was  ended,  we  see  how  "  mightily 
grew  the  word  of  God,  and  prevailed."  Then  sup- 
pose, for  one  moment,  the  possibility  that,  by  the 
same  spiritual  power,  the  Church  had  multiplied  her 
converts  in  equal  ratio:  few  ages  would  have 
elapsed  before  the  whole  earth  would  have  been 
renewed  in  righteousness.  But  the  saint-making 
power  abated ;  and  crowds  of  Christians  became 
little  better,  though  still  better,  than  crowds  of 
heathen.  Was  this  loss  of  efficiency  owing  to  the 
unfaithfulness  of  men,  and,  therefore,  capable  of 
being  recovered  by  a  return  to  the  original  means 
of  importunate  prayer  and  strong  faith  ?  or  was  it 
owing  to  a  design  of  the  Head  of  the  Church,  and 
therefore  irrecoverable  ? 

On  a  question  so  vital  to  the  interests  of  man- 
18 


274  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

kind,  no  mind  ought  to  float  on  the  prevailing  cur- 
rent without  adopting  a  deliberate  conviction. 
Was  the  conversion  of  thousands  in  Jerusalem,  of 
crowds  in  Ephesus,  in  Samaria,  Antioch,  Corinth, 
Rome,  and  elsewhere,  a  proof,  once  for  all,  of  what 
God  could  do  toward  the  saving  of  this  lost  world, 
which  He  designed  never  to  repeat,  and  which  His 
children  would  be  presumptuous  in  expecting  to 
see  again?  Were  those  multitudes,  so  speedily 
gathered  out  of  the  world,  to  represent,  in  future 
ages,  only  small  companies  of  true  believers,  to 
whom  accessions  were  to  be  very  gradual,  and  who 
were  never  to  gain  the  overwhelming  majority  ? 
If  so,  then  the  Christian  dispensation  was  deliber 
ately  planned  above  to  begin  in  sunrise,  but,  instead 
of  shining  more  and  more  to  the  perfect  day,  speed- 
ily to  pale  into  twilight;  and  then  darken  to  a  long, 
long  night,  in  which  stars  would  thinly  spangle  a 
wide  space  of  gloom. 

Would  not  many  who  recoil  from  this  conclusion 
stare  at  a  man  having  a  congregation  of  a  thousand 
people  before  him,  any  one  of  whom  would  feel 
perplexed  if  you  asked  him,  "  Could  you  confi- 
dently lay  your  hand  on  fifty  persons  in  this  congre- 
gation who  are  living  like  heirs  of  heaven  ?" — if  he, 
simply  telling  them  their  state,  would  go  on  to  say, 
that  they  might  all  that  very  morning  become 
children  of  God,  and  live  for  "  the  rest  of  their 


PERMANENT.  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    275 

time"  a  new  and  blessed  life  ?  Were  it  done  with 
the  official  formality  which  at  once  indicated  that  it 
was  just  a  thing  proper  to  be  believed,  and  even  to 
be  said  now  and  then,  very  probably  it  would  excite 
no  remark ;  but  if  it  were  done  with  the  downright 
air  of  a  man  who  thoroughly  meant  what  he  said, 
and  was  then  and  there  looking  for  corresponding 
results,  would  not  many  be  startled  ?  But  why  ? 
If  it  be  not  true  that  God  has  withdrawn  from 
Christianity  the  converting  power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  why  ?  Either  affirm  your  principle,  or 
abandon  the  habit  of  thought  which  you  have 
formed  on  the  assumption  of  that  principle.  If 
you  see  that  there  is  death  to  the  Church,  or  death 
to  souls,  in  the  principle,  why  not  see  that  there  is 
death,  too,  in  assuming  it,  and  acting  upon  it,  as 
clearly  announced,  without  affirming  it  ? 

Some  who  would  be  gratified  to  see  an  expecta- 
tion of  one  conversion,  or  of  a  few,  would  never- 
theless be  disturbed  by  the  manifest  expectation  of 
a  great  number.  Why  should  this  be?  If  the 
Minister  of  the  Gospel  is  not  now  to  go  before  a 
multitude  with  a  frank  and  earnest  assurance  that 
every  one  of  them  who  will  only  repent  and  believe 
may  "  receive  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost,"  it  must 
be  because  our  dispensation  has  been  fearfully 
changed  since  its  opening.  Tlie  iirst  multitude  who 
stood  before  a  preacher  of  Christianity  can  never 


J76  THE  TONGUE    OF   FIRE. 

be  regarded  as  representing  itself  alone.  When 
the  cry  arose  from  it,  "  What  must  we  do  ?"  it  was 
not  the  men  then  present  only  who  inquired.  It 
was  you,  and  I,  and  every  man  who  ever  comes  to 
a  preacher  of  the  Gospel  to  hear  what  he  has  to 
say  on  the  great  subject  of  our  salvation.  The 
answer  which  Peter  rendered  to  that  multitude  was 
not  to  them  alone,  but  to  us  and  to  our  children,  to 
all  of  every  age  and  every  nation  who  put  the 
question  which  they  put.  That  answer  was,  "  Re- 
pent, and  be  baptized,  every  one  of  you  in  the 
name  of  Jesus  Christ  for  the  remission  of  sins,  and 
ye  shall  receive  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  He 
does  not  promise  them  that  they  should  be  admitted 
as  members  of  the  Church  merely,  accounted  Chris- 
tians merely,  or  that  after  death  they  shall  inherit 
eternal  happiness ;  but,  in  plain  strong  words,  he 
tells  them  that  they  shall  receive  that  blessing  which 
constitutes  the  substance  of  the  Gospel :  "  Ye  shall 
receive  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;"  and  this,  not 
"  some  of  you,"  but  "  every  one  of  you,"  with  no 
condition  whatever  but  that  they  "  repent,  and  be 
baptized." 

Is  it  to  be  supposed  that  Peter  would  have  altered 
this  reply,  had  you,  and  I,  and  our  children  been 
there?  or  that,  had  the  image  of  future  generations 
risen  to  his  eye  as  standing  behind  those  he  ad- 
dressed and  represented  by  them,  he  would  have 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.   277 

qualified  his  grand  promise,  and  taken  care  to  falter 
something  guarded,  instead  of  plainly  saying, 
"  Ye  shall  receive  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost  ?" 
Let  those  who  fear  to  regard  this  promise  as 
equally  applicable  to  us  as  to  them,  only  read  the 
'-ords  with  which  he  follows  it  up:  "For  the 
promise  is  unto  you,  and  to  your  children,  and  to 
all  that  are  afar  off,  even  as  many  as  the  Lord  our 
God  shall  call.  On  the  next  occasion  when  he  ad- 
dresses a  multitude,  he  holds  this  language :  "  Unto 
you  first  God,  having  raised  up  His  Son  Jesus,  sent 
Him  to  bless  you,  in  turning  away  every  one  of  you 
from  his  iniquities."  Here  the  converting  grace 
of  Christ  is  without  hesitation  proclaimed  to  all  who 
stand  before  him. 

It  is  to  be  remarked  that  what  he  here  states  to 
be  Christ's  mode  of  blessing  men  lies  in  conversion 
itself,  in  the  "  turning  away"  of  a  man  "  from  his 
iniquities."  Whatever  the  Gospel  may  do  indirectly 
for  the  enlightenment  and  elevation  of  a  man,  so  long 
as  he  continues  the  servant  of  sin,  it  has  conferred 
upon  him  no  eternal  advantage.  "  His  servants  ye 
are  to  whom  ye  obey,"  is  a  word  that  must  stand 
forever.  He  that  is  still  doing  the  work  of  Satan 
is  his  servant,  and  with  him  must  take  his  reward. 
And  it  is  also  notable  that  he  speaks  of  Jesus  hav- 
ing been  sent  to  bless  them  after  He  had  been 
raised ;  thus  announcing  a  mission  of  Christ  subse- 


278  THE  TO1STGUE   OF   FIRE. 

quent  to  His  resurrection,  yet  having  already  taken 
place  in  those  days.  This  must  be  that  presence 
of  Christ  which  He  promised  them  when  He  was 
about  to  depart  from  them,  saying,  in  the  very  act 
of  leaving  them,  "  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto 
the  end  of  the  world." 

"  With  them,"  no  longer  in  that  body  which  con- 
fined Him  to  the  very  spot  in  which  the  Twelve 
were,  but  "  with  them"  by  the  power  of  His  Spirit, 
which  is  represented  in  the  Apocalypse  as  the 
"eyes  of  the  Lamb."  "And  I  beheld,  and  lo,  in 
the  midst  of  the  throne  and  of  the  four  beasts,  and 
in  the  midst  of  the  elders,  stood  a  Lamb  as  it  had 
been  slain,  having  seven  horns  and  seven  eyes, 
which  are  the  seven  Spirits  of  God  sent  forth  into 
all  the  earth."*  Here  we  have  the  Lamb  en- 
throned, yet  "  as  slain,"  with  the  tokens  of  death 
and  atonement  upon  Him  ;  yet,  again,  "  having 
seven  horns,"  the  signs  of  universal  kingship,  "  and 
seven  eyes,  which  are  the  seven  Spirits  of  God  sent 
forth  into  all  the  earth."  Majesty,  mediation,  and 
spiritual  presence  "  throughout  all  the  earth,"  are 
here  gloriously  set  before  us ;  and  the  Lamb,  though 
no  longer  bodily  present  with  one  group  of  dis- 
ciples, is  present  with  all,  by  His  Spirit,  which 
is  moving  in  the  hearts  of  those  who  serve  Him, 
as  if  it  were  the  glance  of  the  Lord.  He  ascended 
*  Rev.  v.  6. 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.   279 

that  He  might  be  with  us  all  and  with  us  always, 
just  as  a  Prince,  on  the  eve  of  the  battle,  would 
retire  from  any  one  division  of  his  army,  and  go 
above  them,  that  he  might  be  present  with  all ; 
for  he  would  be  present  with  every  battalion 
that  he  had  under  his  sight.  And  as  that  Prince 
would  dart  his  own  spirit  by  his  eye  into  the 
breast  of  every  follower,  so  does  our  Bang  dart 
His  into  the  breast  of  all  who  wait  before  His 
throne. 

The  one  blessing,  then,  which  the  exalted  Medi- 
ator has  to  confer  on  this  world  is,  in  "  turning  men 
from  their  iniquities,"  in  converting  sinners  from 
the  error  of  their  ways,  in  bringing  those  who  are 
afar  off  from  God  nigh  to  Him,  and  making  those 
who  are  now  living  in  sin  to  be  "  heirs  of  God,  and 
joint-heirs  with  Christ ;"  restoring,  in  fact,  the  image 
of  God  upon  earth,  manifesting  the  Divine  ideal  of 
humanity  in  our  "  mortal  bodies,"  rearing  up  com- 
munities who  shall  be  properly  called,  "  the  children 
of  our  Father  who  is  in  heaven" — communities, 
whose  ruling  nature  shall  not  be  that  of  fallen 
Adam,  but  who  shall  have  that  mind  in  them  which 
was  also  in  Christ,  being  made  partakers  of  the 
Divine  nature,  and,  in  proof  thereof,  loving  those 
that  hate  them,  blessing  those  that  curse  them, 
praying  for  those  that  despitefully  use  them  and 
persecute  them ;  and  thus,  by  returning  good  feel- 


280  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

ings  for  bad  feelings,  good  words  for  bad  words, 
good  deeds  for  bad  deeds,  showing  themselves 
the  children  of  their  Father  in  heaven.  The 
triumph  and  glory  of  Christ  lies  in  so  renewing 
the  face  of  the  earth,  that  this  image  of  God 
shall  be  the  prevalent  characteristic  of  humanity, 
that  peace  and  good-will  shah1  take  hold  of  na- 
tions, righteousness  and  truth  flourish  in  the  homes 
of  all. 

The  accomplishment,  to  a  considerable  extent,  of 
this  great  purpose  formed  the  singular  glory  of  the 
early  Church.  To  a  community  in  the  city  of  Rome 
it  could  be  said,  "  Ye  were  the  servants  of  sin.  *  *  * 
But  now,  being  made  free  from  sin,  and  become 
servants  to  God,  ye  have  your* fruit  unto  holiness, 
and  the  end  everlasting  life."  To  another  company 
in  the  city  of  Corinth  it  could  be  said,  after  describ- 
ing the  various  classes  of  sinners  who  could  not  see 
the  kingdom  of  God,  "  Such  were  some  of  you ; 
but  ye  are  washed,  but  ye  are  sanctified,  but  ye  are 
justified  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  by  the 
Spirit  of  our  God."  To  some  in  the  city  of  Ephesus 
it  could  be  said,  "  And  you  hath  He  quickened  who 
were  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins ;  wherein  in  times 
past  ye  walked  according  to  the  course  of  this 
world,  according  to  the  prince  of  the  power  of  the 
air,  the  spirit  that  now  worketh  in  the  children  of 
disobedience:  among  whom  also  we  all  had  our 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    281 

conversation  in  times  past  in  the  lusts  of  our  flesh, 
fulfilling  the  desires  of  the  flesh  and  of  the  mind  ; 
and  were  by  nature  the  children  of  wrath,  even  as 
others.  But  God,  who  is  rich  in  mercy,  for  His 
great  love  wherewith  He  loved  us,  even  when  we 
were  dead  in  sins,  hath  quickened  us  together  with 
Christ  (by  grace  are  ye  saved)  ;  and  hath  raised  us 
up  together,  and  made  us  sit  together  in  heavenly 
places  in  Christ  Jesus :  that  in  the  ages  to  come  He 
might  show  the  exceeding  riches  of  His  grace  in 
His  kindness  toward  us  through  Christ  Jesus."* 
To  some  in  the  city  of  Colosse  it  could  be  said, 
"  Giving  thanks  unto  the  Father,  which  hath  made 
us  meet  to  be  partakers  of  the  inheritance  of  the 
saints  in  light:  who  hath  delivered  us  from  the 
power  of  darkness,  and  hath  translated  us  into  the 
kingdom  of  His  dear  Son."f  To  some  in  Thessa- 
lonica  it  could  be  said,  "  And  ye  became  followers 
of  us,  and  of  the  Lord,  having  received  the  word 
in  much  affliction,  with  joy  of  the  Holy  Ghost :  so 
that  ye  were  ensamples  to  all  that  believe  in  Mace- 
donia and  Achaia."J  And  when  our  Lord  looked 
down  from  Heaven  upon  the  Seven  Churches  of 
Asia,  even  His  eyes  of  flame,  looking  upon  the 
Church  of  Sardis  itself,  saw  there  were  "some 
names  in  Sardis  which  had  not  defiled  their  gar- 
ments." 

®  Eph.  ii.  1-T,         f  Col.  i.  12,  13.         t  1  Thcss.  i.  6,  7. 


282  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

To  suppose  that  this  power  to  regenerate  man, 
and  thereby  to  ameliorate  human  society,  has  been 
withdrawn  from  the  Church  by  the  will  and  ap- 
pointment of  her  adorable  Head,  is  to  suppose,  in 
fact,  that  the  one  practical  end  of  Christianity  has 
been  voluntarily  abandoned — that  end  which  lies  in 
glorifying  God  upon  the  earth,  and  in  saving  the 
souls  of  men.  If  Christianity  can  not  renew  men 
in  the  image  of  God,  she  ceases  to  have  any  special 
distinction  above  other  religions,  except  the  one  of 
more  wisdom  and  more  virtue.  Her  mission  here 
was  to  overcome  Satan  in  the  realm  in  which  he 
had  hitherto  triumphed,  to  re-establish  the  empire 
of  God  over  the  hearts  and  lives  of  a  race  that  had 
wandered  from  Him,  and  to  prepare  out  of  the 
children  of  that  race  heirs  meet  for  a  pure  and  an 
immortal  kingdom. 

Not  only  would  this  practical  end  be  abandoned, 
but  the  standing  evidence  to  Christianity  would  be 
discontinued.  The  miracles  and  prophecies  of  the 
past  time  are  an  evidence  to  Christianity  as  a  sys- 
tem.of  truth ;  but  if  she  be  only  a  system  of  truth, 
and  not  also  a  power  unto  salvation,  she  but  adds 
to  the  guilt  of  men  here  by  increasing  their  light, 
and  to  their  misery  hereafter  by  increasing  their 
stripes.  No  miracles,  no  prophecies,  no  accumula- 
tion of  arguments  under  heaven  can  demonstrate  to 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO   THE   CHTTBCH.         283 

our  neighbors  at  this  moment  that  Christianity  is  a 
power  which  can  actually  make  men  superior  to 
their  own  circumstances  and  their  own  sins ;  which 
can  take  men  of  this  nineteenth  century,  men  with 
sin  in  their  blood,  sin  in  their  bones,  sin  in  their 
habits,  sin  in  their  down-sitting  and  their  uprising, 
sin  against  God,  sin  against  their  neighbor,  sin 
against  themselves,  sins  of  self-interest  and  sins 
against  self-interest,  sins  for  happiness,  and  sins  that 
wreck  happiness — and  out  of  these  men,  still  living 
in  the  very  circumstances  wherein  their  past  time 
has  been  spent,  make  "  servants  of  God,  free  from 
sin,  having  their  fruit  unto  holiness,  and  the  end 
everlasting  life." 

The  evidence  of  this,  the  only  real  and  effective 
evidence,  is  living  men  who  have  been  regenerated, 
and  whose  good  works  plainly  declare  them  to  be 
of  our  Father  who  is  in  Heaven.  We,  too,  can  say, 
that  "God  has  sent  His  Son  Jesus  to  bless"  our 
neighbors,  "in  turning  away  every  one  of  them 
from  his  iniquities ;"  but  how  unimpressive  would 
be  our  saying  it,  were  there  none  to  whom  we 
could  point  them,  and  add,  "  These  are  our  epistles, 
known  and  read  of  all  men !" 

Peter,  recurring  again  to  the  kingly  state  of  the 
Saviour,  said,  "Him  hath  God  exalted  with  His 
right  hand  to  be  a  Prince  and  a  Saviour,  for  to  give 
repentance  to  Israel,  and  forgiveness  of  sins.  And 


284  THE  TONGUE    OF   FIBE. 

we  are  His  witnesses  of  these  things ;  and  so  is  also 
tfie  Holy  Ghost,  whom  God  hath  given  to  them  that 
obey  Him."*  Here  is  the  double  evidence,  that  of 
Apostles  and  that  of  the  Spirit  in  living  converts. 
We  of  this  day  are  also  Christ's  witnesses  that  He 
is  "  exalted  a  Prince  and  a  Saviour,  to  give  repent- 
ance and  forgiveness  of  sins;"  but  our  witness 
must  be  corroborated  by  those  who,  having  re- 
ceived the  Holy  Ghost,  live  in  the  Spirit  and  walk 
in  the  Spirit. 

Peter,  in  speaking  of  the  witness  which  the 
Prophets  bore  to  Christ,  sums  it  up  thus:  "To 
Him  give  all  the  Prophets  witness,  that  through 
His  name  whosoever  believeth  in  Him  shall  receive 
remission  of  sins."  When  we  bear  this  witness, 
we  ought  to  expect  the  same  attestation  of  it  which 
Peter  saw  in  his  Gentile  audience,  and  which  he 
afterward  used  to  prove  that  they  also  had  received 
salvation  as  well  as  the  Jews ;  namely,  God  "  put 
no  difference  between  us"  (the  first  Jewish  con- 
verts) "  and  them,  purifying  their  hearts  by  faith." 
Wherever  men  can  be  pointed  to,  whose  hearts 
have  been  purified  by  faith,  whose  lives  are  a  man- 
ifest example  of  salvation  from  sin,  there  is  the 
standing  evidence  that  Christianity  is  "  the  power 
of  God  unto  salvation ;"  and  no  other  description 
of  evidence,  as  we  before  said,  can  prove  this.  Is 

*  Acts  v.  31,  32. 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    285 

it  supposable  that  Christ  has  withdrawn  from  His 
Church  or  diminished  that  power  which  would 
show  continually  that  He  "  saves  His  people  from 
their  sins  ?" 


The  converting  power  is  also  the  Church's  great 
attraction.  It  is  true  that  some  would  attract  men 
by  ceremonies,  or  talent,  or  the  charms  of  arch- 
itecture or  music — attract  them  that  they  may  con- 
vert them ;  whereas  the  true  order  is,  Convert,  that 
you  may  attract.  The  one  is  the  order  of  the  char- 
latan, who  trusts  to  factitious  allurements  for  at- 
tracting the  public  in  the  hope  that  he  may  cure 
some ;  the  other,  the  order  of  the  true  physician, 
who  trusts  to  the  fact  of  his  curing  some  as  the 
means  of  attracting  others.  Whenever  the  Church 
sends  into  a  family  one  new  convert  glowing  with 
love  and  joy,  she  kindles  a  light  which  will,  in  all 
probability,  give  light  to  all  that  are  in  the  house. 
Whenever  she  is  the  means  of  making  one  shop- 
man turn  from  his  sins,  and  exhibit  to  his  comrades 
a  picture  of  holy  living,  in  all  probability  she  will 
soon  have  others  from  that  shop  at  her  altars. 
Whenever  she  brings  one  factory-girl  to  sit,  like 
Mary,  at  the  feet  of  Jesus,  very  probably  in  a  little 
while  other  Marys  will  be  with  her. 

In  every  situation,  new  converts  are  the  most 
powerful  attraction  that  ever  acts  on  those  who  are 


286  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

still  in  the  world.  There  seems  a  peculiar  spiritual 
power  connected  with  the  first  love,  and  an  im- 
pressiveness  in  the  words,  of  new  converts,  enforced 
by  the  manifest  change  in  them,  which  nothing  else 
can  exert.  That  house  of  God  which  becomes  noted 
in  a  neighborhood  as  a  place  in  which  many  sinners 
have  been  "  transformed  by  the  renewing  of  their 
minds,"  will,  by  a  certain  instinct  of  our  redeemed 
humanity,  soon  become  a  center  of  attraction,  not 
only  to  those  who,  with  scarcely  any  light,  are 
groping  after  the  truth,  but  even  to  men  who  are 
still  hardily  going  on  in  sin.  The  greatest  fame  of 
Christianity  is  the  fame  of  the  cures  she  works,  her 
greatest  glory  the  glory  of  the  saints  she  trains,  her 
own  unshared  renown  the  renown  of  sinners  renewed 
in  the  image  of  God ;  and  wherever  works  of  this 
kind  are  noised  abroad  in  any  community,  there  the 
preacher  will  not  want  hearers,  there  the  sower  will 
not  be  without  a  field. 

The  converting  power  is  also  the  principal  lever 
which  Christianity  can  use  for  raising  the  standard 
of  morals  in  nations.  Instruction  is  the  basis  of  all 
moral  operation ;  but  instruction  in  morals,  like  in- 
struction in  science,  is  of  little  force  unless  backed 
by  experiment.  Say  all  you  can  to  men  about  the 
duty  of  returning  good  for  evil,  they  will  scarcely 
have  a  clear  conception  of  it,  until  they  see  some 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    287 

man  deliberately  benefiting  one  from  whom  he  has 
received  deliberate  injury.  One  tradesman  con- 
verted, and  manfully  taking  ground  among  his  com- 
panions against  trade  tricks  once  used  by  himself, 
casts  greater  shame  upon  their  dishonesty  than  all 
the  instructions  they  ever  heard  from  pulpits ;  or, 
rather,  gives  an  edge,  a  power,  and  an  embodiment 
to  them  all.  One  youth  whom  religion  strengthens 
to  walk  purely  among  dissipated  companions  sends 
lights  and  stings  into  their  consciences  which  mere 
instruction  could  not  give,  because  it  shows  them 
that  purity  is  not,  as  temptation  says,  unattainable. 
And  so  with  all  the  virtues ;  it  is  but  by  embodying 
them  in  the  persons  of  men  that  they  become 
thoroughly  understood  in  the  public  mind. 

It  is  but  too  well  known  that  there  are  nations 
of  the  highest  civilization,  in  which  all  that  need  be 
said  about  truthfulness  has  been  said  for  ages,  till 
the  word  "  truth"  is  on  the  lips  of  every  one  ;  yet 
it  is  next  to  impossible  to  find  one  being  who  has 
any  thing  like  a  just  conception  of  what  manly, 
consistent,  continual  truth-telling  is. 

Just  in  proportion  as  the  number  of  converted 
men  is  great  or  small,  will  be  the  amount  of  con- 
science in  the  community  generally.  Viewed  in 
this  light,  each  conversion  facilitates  future  con- 
versions. Each  new  convert  adds  somewhat  to  the 
moral  influence  existing  among  men,  and  each  ad- 


288  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

ditional  thousand  greatly  improves  the  public  con- 
science, and  weakens  the  ties  which  bind  men  to 
sin.  Where  no  one  is  godly,  moderately  correct 
persons  are  almost  ashamed  of  their  lack  of  bad- 
ness ;  where  a  tenth  of  the  adults  are  godly,  even 
ordinary  sinners  are  ashamed  of  their  lack  of  good- 
ness ;  and  where  a  fifth,  or  a  third  of  the  adults  are 
godly,  the  hinderances  to  the  conversion  of  the  rest 
are  as  nothing,  compared  with  those  that  exist 
where  the  great  masses  are  still  living  in  their  sins. 

The  converting  power  is  also  the  only  means 
whereby  Christianity  raises  up  agents  for  her  own 
propagation.  That  which  is  wanted  in  an  agent, 
above  all,  is  zeal — zeal  for  God,  burning  desire  to 
save  sinners.  This  zeal  is  never  a  matter  of  mere 
conviction,  but  always  a  matter  of  nature.  It  is 
"  Christ  in  you."  It  4s  "  the  love  of  Christ  con- 
straining you."  It  is  the  Divine  nature,  which  de- 
lights to  communicate,  to  bestow,  to  purify,  to  save, 
breathed  into  the  soul  of  man,  and  impelling  it  in 
the  same  course  wherein  Christ  Himself  moved. 
Agents  with  this  nature  we  can  have  only  by  suc- 
cessive outpourings  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  by  con- 
stant accessions  of  new  converts. 

When  they  who  have  been  great  sinners  are 
themselves  converted  to  God,  having  been  forgiven 
much,  they  love  much,  and  frequently  become 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHUBCH.    289 

mighty  instruments  of  winning  others  to  Christ. 
For  the  high  work  of  the  ministry,  either  we  must 
content  ourselves  to  make  ministers  by  a  factitious 
process,  or  we  must  look  to  see  them  springing  up 
from  amid  multitudes  of  new  converts,  who  in 
youth  turn  to  the  Lord,  and  devote  themselves  to 
do  His  will.  When  conversions  are  not  few,  but 
many — when  "  numbers  turn  to  the  Lord"— when 
the  inhabitants  of  one  town  say  to  those  of  another, 
"  Come,  let  us  go  speedily  to  seek  the  Lord,  and  to 
pray  before  the  Lord  of  hosts" — when  there  are 
many  repenting,  and  many  rejoicing,  saying,  "  We 
have  redemption  in  His  blood,  even  the  forgiveness 
of  sins" — then  will  assuredly  appear  some  with  plain 
marks  that  the  spirit  of  the  prophets  is  in  them,  and 
that  they  are  called  to  spread,  far  and  wide,  the 
glorious  salvation  of  which  they  themselves  partake. 

Nothing  so  re-animates  the  zeal  of  old  Christians 
as  witnessing  the  joy  and  simplicity,  the  gratitude 
and  fervor,  of  those  who  have  been  lately  born  of 
God.  While  the  old  disciple  is  to  the  young  one 
an  example  of  moderation  and  strength,  the  young 
is  to  the  old  an  example  of  fervor ;  the  one  shed- 
ding upon  the  other  a  steadying  influence,  while  he 
receives  in  return  a  cheering  and  an  impelling  one. 

It  is  also  wonderful  how  much  the  occurrence  of 
conversions  heightens  the  efficiency  of  men  already 
employed  in  the  ministry,  or  in  other  departments 
19 


290  THE  TONGUE    OF   FIRE. 

of  the  work  of  God.  The  preacher  preaches  with 
new  heart,  the  exhorter  exhorts  with  revived  feel- 
ing, he  that  prays  has  double  faith  and  fervor ; 
and  the  joy  of  conquest  breathes  new  vigor  into  al] 
the  Lord's  host. 

While  the  importance,  and  in  fact  the  necessity, 
of  the  converting  power  of  the  Spirit  may  be  ad- 
mitted in  the  abstract,  all  its  practical  value  may  be 
set  aside  by  cherishing  dislike  to  the  idea  of  sudden 
conversions,  or  numerous  conversions.  It  is  deemed 
sober  to  expect  conversions  some  time,  but  not  so 
to  expect  them  now ;  and  as  the  "  now"  perpetuates 
itself  on,  and  on,  and  on  through  the  lifetime  of  a 
generation,  the  time  to  look  for  their  conversion 
never  comes,  and  the  next  generation  succeed  to 
the  same  chill  law  of  unbelief ;  each  one  living  in 
the  doomed  "  now"  when  the  converting  power  ia 
not  to  be  looked  for  without  fanaticism. 

The  preference  so  carefully  and  even  ostenta^ 
tiously  displayed  by  many  good  men  for  what  are 
called  gradual  conversions  over  sudden  ones,  may 
have  some  foundation — but  not  in  Scripture.  All 
the  conversions  we  find  mentioned  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament are  sudden.  That  of  Lydia  is  the  only  one 
that  is  ever  cited  as  being  gradual,  and  yet  it  took 
place  under  one  sermon.  The  expression,  "The 
Lord  opened  her  heart,"  can  not  imply,  at  the  very 
most,  more  than  that  the  action  upon  her  heart  was 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHUBCH.    291 

a  gentle  one ;  the  door  was  opened,  not  burst  in ; 
but  it  did  not  take  three  months  to  open  it — it  was 
done  in  a  day.  The  sudden  conversion  is  an  opera- 
tion manifestly  Divine.  It  brings  with  it  a  token 
of  something  supernatural ;  and  when  the  after-life 
attests  its  genuineness,  there  is  in  the  very  fact  of 
its  suddenness  a  perpetual  memento  of  "  the  mighty 
power  of  God."  The  natural  aversion  of  the  heart 
to  every  thing  which  forces  upon  it  the  conscious- 
ness of  a  spiritual  and  supernatural  power  moving 
in  this  present  life,  sufficiently  accounts  for  the  tend- 
ency we  all  feel  to  prefer  some  mode  of  operation 
which  would  appear  less  supernatural  than  the  sud- 
den, not  to  say  miraculous,  transformations  from 
sin  to  godliness,  which  form  the  common-place 
chronicles  of  the  early  Church. 

As  to  the  question,  whether  those  who  are  sud- 
denly converted  are  or  are  not  as  stable  as  those 
upon  whom  the  work  is  more  gradual,  few  are  in  a 
good  position  to  judge ;  for  every  one  who  is  sud- 
denly converted  is  sure  to  have  many  eyes  upon 
him,  and  if  he  draw  back,  the  notice  of  all  these  is 
excited;  whereas  many  who  gradually  take  up  a 
religious  profession  gradually  drop  it  again,  and 
scarcely  any  notice  is  taken.  But,  be  the  question 
of  stability  settled  as  it  may,  it  is  certain  that  the 
scriptural  examples  of  conversion  are  sudden,  and 
equally  certain  that,  if  we  are  to  look  only  for 


292  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

gradual  conversions,  we  must  deliberately  make  up 
our  minds  to  see  millions  upon  millions  of  our 
countrymen  die  impenitent,  wlio,  if  sudden  con- 
versions are  multiplied*  may  yet  be  brought  to  God 
before  they  end  their  days.  The  jailor  was  found 
at  the  extremity  of  sinfulness,  just  in  the  act  of 
suicide  ;  yet  that  very  night  salvation  was  preached 
to  him,  embraced  by  him,  and  filled  his  heart  with 
holy  joy. 

Some  would  not  so  much  object  to  sudden  con- 
versions, if  many  of  them  did  not  take  place  at  a 
time.  But  there  is  something  unaccountable  in  the 
feeling  with  which  even  godly  men  look  upon  any 
movement  in  which  it  would  seem,  that  a  large 
number  of  sinners  have  been  simultaneously  turned 
to  God.  First,  they  can  hardly  believe  that  the 
work  is  real,  they  begin  to  prophesy  that  it  will 
not  be  lasting.  Then,  if  they  find  that  it  has  lasted, 
they  still  incline  to  think  that  they  had  better  not 
look  for  any  thing  so  extraordinary  among  their 
own  neighbors,  but  go  on  steadily,  as  they  say, 
gaining  by  degrees. 

One  simple  objection  to  this  theory  of  "going  on 
steadily"  (that  is,  slowly)  is,  that  it  coolly  consigns 
whole  generations  to  hell,  and  leaves  us  with  the 
dreadful  feeling,  that  the  best  progress  of  the  work 
of  God  is  a  progress  which  leaves  the  great  majority 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    293 

of  those  now  alive  hopelessly  in  their  sins.  Another 
objection  to  this  "going  on  steadily"  is,  that  it  is 
not  Pentecostal ;  it  is  not  primitive ;  it  is  not  after 
the  example  of  "  the  mighty  power  of  God."  In 
the  early  Church  conversions  were  by  the  hundred 
and  the  thousand ;  the  word  spread,  not  with  the 
moderation  dear  to  small  and  proper  men,  who  are 
always  afraid  of  being  charged  with  extravagance, 
but  with  the  sweep  and  power  of  a  Divine  movement, 
the  agents  in  which  were  borne  onward  as  on  the 
wings  of  the  wind,  willing  to  be  a  laughing-stock  to 
men,  willing  to  hear  an  outcry  from  the  world  which 
they  were  turning  upside  down. 

When  conversions  are  very  numerous,  in  propor- 
tion to  the  human  instruments,  the  agency  of  God 
is  much  more  strikingly  manifested  than  when  they 
are  few.  Although  the  man  who,  by  his  own  ex- 
perience, knows  what  it  is  to  pass  from  darkness  to 
light,  will  see  an  evidence  of  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  in  any  and  every  true  conversion ;  those  who 
have  no  such  experience,  easily  avoid  concluding 
that  a  supernatural  power  is  in  action,  so  long  as 
they  can  trace  an  imagined  proportion  between  the 
agency  and  the  results.  If  a  few  people  are  turned 
from  their  sins  by  many  preachers,  it  seems  no  more 
than  natural ;  if  a  few  holy  men  are  found  in  a 
multitude,  it  is  only  another  proof,  they  think,  of 
the  fact  that  there  will  always  be  a  certain  number 


294  THE  TONGUE    OF   FIRE. 

of  good  people  among  the  wicked.  But  if  a  large 
number  of  thoughtless  youths,  or  confirmed  shiners, 
become  devoted  to  God  through  the  instrumentality 
of  some  one  preacher,  and  if  this  extend  to  neigh- 
borhood after  neighborhood,  a  feeling  falls  upon 
spectators  that  it  is  not  to  be  accounted  for  by  reas- 
oning about  proportion,  but  by  the  operation  of  a 
superior  power. 

Let  but  the  results  of  preaching  as  to  the  number 
and  suddenness  of  the  conversions  pass  a  certain 
point — let  the  number  be  thousands,  and  the  time 
one  day — and  the  idea  of  attributing  this  to  the 
power  of  some  men  would  not  enter  the  mind. 
Who  ever  thought,  on  reading  that  three  thousand 
Jews  were  converted  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  and 
lived  holy  lives  afterward,  of  exclaiming,  "  What  a 
preacher  Peter  was !"  The  magnitude  of  the  effect 
at  once  suggests  a  superhuman  cause.  Had  the 
result  been  small,  the  man  would  have  been  glori- 
fied; but  when  it  took  such  proportions,  he  was 
thrown  into  the  shade,  and  "  the  mighty  power  of 
God"  alone  occupies  the  mind.  When  a  flash  of 
light  falls  on  our  path  in  the  street  in  the  evening, 
we  should  at  once  think  of  a  lamp,  because  the  sur- 
face illuminated  in  itself  indicates  some  such  origin. 
But  if  we  see  a  light  fall  upon  a  hill,  and  sweep  over 
successive  hills  until  a  whole  country-side  is  bright- 
ened, we  think  of  the  sun. 


PERMANENT  BENEFITS  TO  THE  CHURCH.    295 

Too  many  conversions  now  take  place,  too  many 
really  converted  men  are  to  be  found,  to  permit  any 
one  to  believe  that  the  converting  power  of  the 
Spirit  has  been  wholly  withdrawn  from  the  Church. 
His  presence  in  the  midst  of  us  is  attested  by  many 
witnesses  ;  but  the  practical  question  for  us  is,  Is  it 
contrary  to  the  design  of  God  that  true  believers 
now  should  multiply  themselves  as  rapidly,  in  pro- 
portion, as  they  did  after  the  day  of  Pentecost  ? 
If  it  be,  then,  no  matter  what  means  may  be 
used,  that  result  can  not  be  obtained ;  but,  if  it 
be  not,  then  we  are  bound  to  hope  that,  the  same 
means  being  used — the  same  prayer,  faith,  and 
zeal  being  put  forth  on  the  part  of  the  Church 
— the  same  blessing  of  the  Holy  Spirit  will  be 
vouchsafed. 

On  the  whole  question  as  to  what  permanent 
benefits  remain  to  the  Church  from  the  dispensa- 
tion of  the  Spirit,  we  contend  that  every  thing 
substantial  implied  in  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
remains  unimpaired.  Whatever  is  necessary  to  the 
holiness  of  the  individual,  to  the  spiritual  life  and 
ministering  gifts  of  the  Church,  or  to  the  conversion 
of  the  world,  is  as  much  the  heritage  of  the  people 
of  God  in  the  latest  days  as  in  the  first.  We  do 
not  see  that  the  miraculous  effects  which  followed 
the  Pentecost  are  promised  to  all  agos  and  all  peo- 


296  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

pie,  and  therefore  we  do  not  look  for  them  to  re- 
appear ;  but  we  feel  satisfied  that  he  who  does  ex- 
pect the  gift  of  healing,  and  the  gift  of  tongues,  or 
any  other  miraculous  manifestation  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  in  addition  to  those  substantial  blessings  of 
which  these  were,  as  we  have  said,  the  ushers  and 
the  heralds,  has  ten  times  more  scriptural  ground 
on  which  to  base  his  expectation,  than  have  they 
for  their  unbelief  who  do  not  expect  supernatural 
sanctifying  strength  for  the  believer,  supernatural 
aid  in  preaching,  exhortation,  and  prayer,  for 
Pastors  and  gifted  members,  and  supernatural  con- 
verting power  upon  the  mi*u*a  of  those  who  are  yet 
of  the  world. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

PRACTICAL    LESSONS. 

AT  one  time  we  meant  to  dwell  at  considerable 
length  upon  practical  lessons  connected  with  our 
subject;  but  this  book  is  already  larger  than  we 
wished  it  to  be,  and  we  will  therefore  touch  only 
three  topics.  We  may  learn  a  lesson  on  THE  SOURCE 
OP  POWER;  one  on  THE  WAY  TO  OBTAIN  POWER; 
and  one  on  THE  SCALE  ON  WHICH  OUR  EXPECTATIONS 

OF  SUCCESS  SHOULD  BE  FRAMED. 

In  the  application  of  any  instrument,  no  error 
can  be  more  fatal  than  one  that  affects  the  source 
of  power.  To  recur  to  an  illustration  before  used, 
any  reasoning  upon  explosive  weapons  which  as- 
sumed elasticity  to  be  the  source  of  power,  must 
lead  completely  astray.  If  this  is  to  be  noted  in 
all  things,  it  is  especially  to  be  noted  in  what  affects 
the  regeneration  of  the  world.  In  merely  natural 
processes,  persons  proposing  to  affect  the  sentiments 
of  mankind,  must  depend  largely  on  their  influence, 


298  THE  TONGUE    OF   FIRE. 

their  wealth,  and  their  facilities.  Christians  fre- 
quently permit  themselves  to  fall  into  a  state  of 
mind  in  which  the  want  of  all  or  any  of  these  is 
taken  to  be  fatal  to  their  prospects  of  success,  and 
the  acquisition  of  them  to  be  the  first  step  toward 
making  any  impression.  But  wealth,  influence,  and 
facilities,  however  great,  never  yet  secured  results 
in  the  spiritual  conversion  of  men  ;  while  the  most 
notable  triumphs  of  Christianity  have  often  been 
gained  in  the  total  absence  of  them  all. 

Others,  or  the  same  men  at  different  times,  would 
rather  allow  their  hopes  to  rest  on  order,  talent,  or 
truth.  But  neither  are  these  the  source  of  power. 
Order  is  as  necessary  in  Christianity  as  are  bones, 
ligaments,  and  skin  in  a  man ;  talent  is  as  necessary 
as  brain,  and  truth  as  blood.  But  you  may  have 
all  these,  and  have  a  paralytic ;  ay,  have  them  all, 
and  have  but  a  corpse.  You  must  have  both  the 
breathing  spirit  and  that  indescribable  something 
that  we  call  "  power."  Indeed,  the  order  of  the 
Christian  Church  ought  to  be  such,  her  outward 
framework  so  constructed,  that  she  shall  not  be  as 
a  building,  which,  though  it  looks  more  cheerful 
when  there  is  life  within,  yet  will  stand  when  there 
is  none  ;  but  rather  as  a  body,  which  falls  the  mo- 
ment the  spirit  forsakes  it,  and  tends  to  decomposi- 
tion. No  Church  ought  to  be  otherwise  construct- 
ed, than  in  entire  dependence  on  the  presence  of 


PRACTICAL   LESSONS.  290 

the  living  Spirit  in  all  her  ministerial  arrangements. 
Her  frame  ought  to  answer  to  no  definition  that 
would  suit  an  inorganic  body ;  but  to  answer  ex- 
actly to  the  celebrated  definition  of  an  organic  one ; 
namely,  "  that  wherein  every  part  is  mutually  means 
and  end."  The  pervading  presence  of  the  Spirit, 
should  be  assumed,  so  that,  if  it  be  absent,  the  pains 
of  death  shall  instantly  take  hold  upon  her,  and  the 
cry  be  extorted,  "  Lord,  save,  or  I  perish !" 

We  must  again  recall  to  mind  that  most  wonder- 
ful silence  of  ten  days — that  long,  long  pause  of  the 
commissioned  Church  in  sight  of  the  perishing 
world.  Never  should  the  solemnity  of  that  silence 
pass  from  the  thoughts  of  any  of  God's  people.  It 
stands  in  the  very  fore-front  of  our  history — the 
Lord's  most  memorable  and  affecting  protest  before- 
hand— that  no  authority  under  heaven,  that  no 
training,  that  no  ordination  could  qualify  men  to 
propagate  the  Gospel,  without  the  baptism  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  Each  successive  day  of  those  solemn 
and  silent  ten,  the  perishing  world  might  have 
knocked  at  the  door  of  the  Church,  and  asked, 
"  What  waitest  thou  for,  O  bride  of  the  ascended 
Bridegroom  ?  Why  dost  thou  not  say,  '  Come  ?' 
Why  leavest  thou  us  to  slumber  on  uncalled,  un- 
warned, unblessed,  whilst  thou,  with  thy  good  tid- 
ings, art  tarrying  inactive  there?  What  waitest 
thou  for?"  and  every  moment  the  answer  would 


300  THE  TONGUE    OF   FIRE. 

have  been,  "  We  are  waiting  to  be  '  endued  with 
power  from  on  high;'  we  are  waiting  to  be  bap- 
tized with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire.' " 

This  is  the  one  and  the  only  source  of  our  power. 
Without  this,  our  wealth,  influence,  facilities,  are 
ships  of  war  and  ammunition  without  guns  or  men; 
our  order,  talent,  truth,  are  men  and  guns,  without 
fire.  We  want  in  this  age,  above  all  wants,  fire, 
God's  holy  fire,  burning  in  the  hearts  of  men,  stir- 
ring their  brains,  impelling  their  emotions,  thrilling 
in  their  tongues,  glowing  in  their  countenances, 
vibrating  in  their  actions,  expanding  their  intellec- 
tual powers  more  than  can  ever  be  done  by  the 
heats  of  genius,  of  argument,  or  of  party ;  and  fusing 
ah1  their  knowledge,  logic,  and  rhetoric  into  a  burn- 
ing stream.  Every  accessory,  every  instrument  of 
usefulness,  the  Church  has  now  in  such  a  degree  and 
of  such  excellence  as  was  never  known  in  any  other 
age ;  and  we  want  but  a  supreme  and  glorious  bap- 
tism of  fire  to  exhibit  to  the  world  such  a  spectacle 
as  would  raise  ten  thousand  hallelujahs  to  the  glory 
of  our  King. 

Let  but  this  baptism  descend,  and  thousands  of 
us  who,  up  to  this  day,  have  been  but  common- 
place or  weak  ministers,  such  as  might  easily  pass 
from  the  memory  of  mankind,  would  then  become 
mighty.  Men  would  wonder  at  us,  as  if  we  had 
been  made  anew ;  and  we  should  wonder,  not  at 


PRACTICAL   LESSONS.  301 

ourselves,  but  at  the  grace  of  God  which  could 
thus  transform  us. 

Suppose  we  saw  an  army  sitting  down  before  a 
granite  fort,  and  they  told  us  that  they  intended  to 
batter  it  down  :  we  might  ask  them,  "  How  ?" 
They  point  to  a  cannon-ball.  Well,  but  there  is  no 
power  in  that ;  it  is  heavy,  but  not  more  than  half 
a  hundred,  or  perhaps  a  hundred,  weight :  if  all  the 
men  in  the  army  hurled  it  against  the  fort,  they 
would  make  no  impression.  They  say,  "  No ;  but 
look  at  the  cannon."  Well,  there  is  no  power  in 
that.  A  child  may  ride  upon  it,  a  bird  may  perch 
in  its  mouth;  it  is  a  machine,  and  nothing  more. 
"  But  look  at  the  powder."  Well,  there  is  no 
power  in  that ;  a  child  may  spill  it,  a  sparrow  may 
peck  it.  Yet  this  powerless  powder,  and  powerless 
ball,  are  put  into  the  powerless  cannon ;— one  spark 
of  fire  enters  it ;  and  then,  in  the  twinkling  of  an 
eye,  that  powder  is  a  flash  of  lightning,  and  that 
ball  a  thunderbolt,  which  smites  as  if  it  had  been 
sent  from  heaven.  So  is  it  with  our  Church  ma- 
chinery at  this  day :  we  have  all  the  instruments 
necessary  for  pulling  down  strongholds,  and  O  for 
the  baptism  of  fire ! 

As   TO   THE   WAY   IN   WHICH   THIS   POWER  MAY  BE 

OBTAINED,  here  we  have  only  to  recall  the  lesson  of 
the  Ten  Days — "  They  continued  with  one  accord 


302  THE  TONGUE    OF   FIRE. 

in  prayer  and  supplication."  Prayer  earnest,  prayer 
united,  and  prayer  persevering,  these  are  the  con- 
ditions ;  and,  these  being  fulfilled,  we  shall  assuredly 
be  "  endued  with  power  from  on  high."  We 
should  never  expect  that  the  power  will  fall  upon 
us  just  because  we  happen  once  to  awake  and  ask  for 
it.  Nor  have  any  community  of  Christians  a  right 
to  look  for  a  great  manifestation  of  the  Spirit,  if 
they  are  not  all  ready  to  join  in  supplication,  and, 
"  with  one  accord,"  to  wait  and  pray  as  if  it  were 
the  concern  of  each  one.  The  murmurer  who  al- 
ways accounts  for  barrenness  in  the  Church  by  the 
faults  of  others,  may  be  assured  that  his  readiest 
way  to  spiritual  power,  if  that  be  his  real  object, 
lies  in  uniting  all,  as  one  heart,  to  pray  without 
ceasing. 

Above  all,  we  are  not  to  expect  it  without  perse- 
vering prayer.  Prayer  which  takes  the  fact  that 
past  prayers  have  not  yet  been  answered,  as  a  rea- 
son for  languor,  has  already  ceased  to  be  the  prayer 
of  faith.  To  the  latter,  the  fact  that  prayers  remain 
unanswered,  is  only  evidence  that  the  moment  of  the 
answer  is  so  much  nearer.  From  first  to  last,  the 
lessons  and  example  of  our  Lord  all  tell  us  that 
prayer  which  can  not  persevere,  and  urge  its  plea 
importunately,  and  renew,  and  renew  itself  again, 
and  gather  strength  from  every  past  petition,  is  not 
the  prayer  that  will  prevail. 


PRACTICAL  LESSONS.  303 

When  John  in  the  Apocalypse  saw  the  Lamb  on 
the  throne,  'before  that  throne  were  the  seven  lamps 
of  fire  burning,  "which  are  the  seven  Spirits  of  God 
sent  forth  into  all  the  earth;"  and  it  is  only  by 
waiting  before  that  throne  of  grace  that  we  become 
imbued  with  the  holy  fire ;  but  he  who  waits  there 
long  and  believingly  will  imbibe  that  fire,  and  come 
forth  from  his  communion  with  God,  bearing  tokens 
of  where  he  has  been.  For  the  individual  believer, 
and,  above  all,  for  every  laborer  in  the  Lord's  vine- 
yard, the  only  way  to  gain  spiritual  power  is  by  se- 
cret waiting  at  the  throne  of  God  for  the  baptism 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Every  moment  spent  in  real 
prayer  is  a  moment  spent  in  refreshing  the  fire  of 
God  within  the  soul.  We  said  before,  that  this  fire 
can  not  be  simulated ;  nothing  else  will  produce  its 
effects.  No  more  can  the  means  of  obtaining  it  be 
feigned.  Nothing  but  the  Lord's  own  appointed 
means,  nothing  but  "  waiting  at  the  throne,"  noth- 
ing but  keeping  the  heart  under  "  the  eyes  of  the 
Lamb,"  to  be  again,  and  again,  and  again  pene- 
trated by  His  Spirit,  can  put  the  soul  into  that  con- 
dition in  which  it  is  a  meet  instrument  to  impart 
the  light  and  power  of  God  to  other  men. 

When  a  lecturer  on  electricity  wants  to  show  an 
example  of  a  human  body  surcharged  with  his  fire, 
he  places  a  person  on  a  stool  with  glass  legs.  The 
glass  serves  to  isolate  him  from  the  earth,  because  it 


304  THE  TONGUE   OP  FIRE. 

will  not  conduct  the  fire — the  electric  fluid :  were  it 
not  for  this,  however  much  might  be  poured  into 
his  frame,  it  would  be  carried  away  by  the  earth ; 
but,  when  thus  isolated  from  it,  he  retains  all  that 
enters  him.  You  see  no  fire,  you  hear  no  fire ;  but 
you  are  told  that  it  is  pouring  into  him.  Presently 
you  are  challenged  to  the  proof— asked  to  come 
near,  and  hold  your  hand  close  to  his  person ;  when 
you  do  so,  a  spark  of  fire  shoots  out  toward  you. 
If  thou,  then,  wouldst  have  thy  soul  surcharged 
with  the  fire  of  God,  so  that  those  who  come  nigh 
to  thee  shall  feel  some  mysterious  influence  pro- 
ceeding out  from  thee,  thou  must  draw  nigh  to  the 
source  of  that  fire,  to  the  throne  of  God  and  of  the 
Lamb,  and  shut  thyself  out  from  the  world — that 
cold  world,  which  so  swiftly  steals  our  fire  away. 
Enter  into  thy  closet,  and  shut  to  thy  door,  and 
there,  isolated,  "  before  the  throne,"  await  the  bap- 
tism ;  then  the  fire  shall  fill  thee,  and  when  thou 
comest  forth,  holy  power  will  attend  thee,  and  thou 
shalt  labor,  not  in  thine  own  strength,  but  "  with 
demonstration  of  the  Spirit,  and  with  power." 

As  this  is  the  only  way  for  an  individual  to  ob- 
tain spiritual  power,  so  is  it  the  only  way  for 
Churches.  Prayer,  prayer,  all  prayer — mighty,  im- 
portunate, repeated,  united  prayer;  the  rich  and 
the  poor,  the  learned  and  the  unlearned,  the  fathers 
and  the  children,  the  pastors  and  the  people,  the 


PRACTICAL  LESSONS.  305 

gifted  and  the  simple,  all  uniting  to  017  to  God 
above,  that  He  would  come  and  affect  them  as  in 
the  days  of  the  right  hand  of  the  Most  High,  and 
imbue  them  with  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  and  warm 
them,  and  kindle  them,  and  make  them  as  a  flame 
of  fire,  and  lay  His  right  hand  mightily  on  the  sin- 
ners that  surround  them,  and  turn  them  in  truth  to 
Him.  Such  united  and  repeated  supplications  will 
assuredly  accomplish  their  end,  and  "  the  power  of 
God"  descending  will  make  every  such  company  as 
a  band  of  giants  refreshed  with  new  wine. 

If  the  source  of  our  power,  and  the  way  to  ob- 
tain it,  be  so  plain,  how  can  it  be  that  the  "  tongue 
of  fire"  is  so  rare  ?  What  are  the  hinderances  f 
Is  it  because,  as  many  would  seem  to  think,  nothing 
is  so  difficult  to  obtain  as  the  grace  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  ?  We  often  hear  it  said,  All  effort  must  be 
unsuccessful  without  the  blessing  of  God,  without 
the  accompanying  power  of  the  Spirit;  and  the 
tone  used  indicates  that  it  is  therefore  proper  not  to 
look  for  any  great  results,  as  if  the  accompanying 
power  of  the  Spirit  was  the  only  thing  not  to  be 
counted  upon.  The  recognition  of  our  impotency 
without  the  Spirit,  and  of  the  absolute  necessity  of 
His  presence  and  His  power,  is  as  needful  as  the 
recognition  of  the  fact  that,  without  sunshine  and 
rain,  all  labor  and  all  skill  would  fail  to  preserve  the 
20 


306  THE   TONGUE    OF   FIRE. 

human  race  for  one  season.  But  the  sunshine  and 
the  rain  are  precisely  the  things  which  cost  nothing, 
and  on  which  we  may  constantly  depend.  So  it  is 
with  the  baptism  and  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
Freer  than  the  air  we  breathe,  freer  than  the  rich 
sunbeams,  freer  than  any  of  God's  other  gifts,  be- 
cause it  is  the  one  which  has  cost  Him  most,  and 
which  blesses  His  children  most,  that  gift  is  ever  at 
hand ;  and  when  we  have  done  what  the  Lord  lays 
upon  us  to  do,  it  is  dishonoring  to  Him  to  cherish  a 
secret  feeling  as  if  He,  being  good,  not  evil,  was 
backward  to  pour  out  His  Spirit,  and  to  do  good  to 
His  children. 

This  feeling  of  unbelief,  wherever  cherished,  must, 
on  the  principles  of  the  Gospel,  be  fatal  to  all  power. 
He  alone  who  magnifies  the'  freeness,  the  fullness, 
and  the  present  efficacy  of  the  Lord's  grace,  can  by 
the  Holy  Ghost  accomplish  wonder.  Trust,  firm 
trust,  straightforward,  child-like  trust,  is  the  ever- 
lasting condition  of  all  co-operation  with  God.  He 
will  not  use,  He  will  not  bless,  He  will  not  inhabit 
the  heart  that,  at  the  moment  when  it  offers  Him  a 
request,  says,  "  I  doubt  Thee." 

In  this  age  of  faith  in  the  natural,  and  disinclin- 
ation to  the  supernatural,  we  want  especially  to 
meet  the  whole  world  with  this  credo,  "  I  believe  in 
'the  Holy  Ghost."  I  expect  to  see  saints  as  lovely 
as  any  that  are  written  of  in  the  Scriptures — be- 


PBACTICAL  LESSONS.  307 

cause  I  believe  in  the  Holy  Ghost.  I  expect  to  see 
preachers  as  powerful  to  set  forth  Christ  evidently 
crucified  before  the  eyes  of  men,  as  powerful  to 
pierce  the  conscience,  to  persuade,  to  convince,  to 
convert,  as  any  that  ever  shook  the  multitudes  of 
Jerusalem,  or  Corinth,  or  Rome — because  I  believe 
in  the  Holy  Ghost.  I  expect  to  see  Churches  the 
members  of  which  shall  be  severally  endued  with 
spiritual  gifts,  and  every  one  moving  in  spiritual 
activity,  animating  and  edifying  one  another,  com- 
mending themselves  to  the  conscience  of  the  world 
by  their  good  works,  commending  their  Saviour  to 
it  by  a  heart-engaging  testimony — because  I  believe 
all  in  the  Holy  Ghost.  I  expect  to  see  villages  where 
the  respectable  people  are  now  opposed  to  religion, 
the  proprietor  ungodly,  the  nominal  pastor  worldly, 
all  that  take  a  lead  set  against  living  Christianity 
— to  see  such  villages  summoned,  disturbed,  divided, 
and  then  re-united,  by  the  subduing  of  the  whole 
population  to  Christ — because  I  believe  in  the  Holy 
Ghost.  I  expect  to  see  cities  swept  from  end  to 
end,  their  manners  elevated,  their  commerce  puri- 
fied, their  politics  Christianized,  their  criminal  pop- 
ulation reformed,  their  poor  made  to  feel  that  they 
dwell  among  brethren — righteousness  in  the  streets, 
peace  in  the  homes,  an  altar  at  every  fireside — be- 
cause I  believe  in  the  Holy  Ghost.  I  expect  the 
world  to  be  overflowed  with  the  knowledge  of 


308  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

God  ;  the  day  to  come  when  no  man  shall  need  to 
say  to  his  neighbor,  "  Know  thou  the  Lord  ;"•  but 
when  all  shall  know  Him,  "  from  the  least  unto  the 
greatest ;"  east  and  west,  north  and  south,  uniting 
to  praise  the  name  of  the  one  God,  and  the  one 
Mediator — because  I  believe  in  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Unbelief  and  neglect  of  prayer  generally  go  to- 
gether as  preventives  of  spiritual  power.  Let  all 
of  us  who  are  painfully  conscious  that  the  results 
just  indicated,  will  never  be  attained  by  the  instru- 
mentality of  men,  in  the  condition  in  which  we  are, 
simply  ask  ourselves,  How  long,  how  often,  how  im- 
portunately have  we  waited  at  the  throne  of  the 
Saviour  for  the  outpouring  of  the  Spirit  ?  Let  our 
closets  answer.  "  The  eyes  of  the  Lamb,"  that  are 
looking  through  us  now,  have  noted.  O !  is  it  any 
wonder  that  ofttimes  we  have  been  powerless,  and 
ofttimes  have  had  but  "  a  little  strength  ?" 

Want  of  true  faith  and  neglect  of  prayer  are  sure 
to  make  place  for  faith  in  the  instrument,  instead 
of  in  the  power.  When  we  are  not  living  near  the 
throne,  our  minds  become  occupied  with  questions 
of  order,  of  talent,  or  of  truth;  or,  if  we  sink  into 
yet  a  lower  state,  with  questions  of  facility,  or  influ- 
ence, or  wealth.  This  Church  reform  will  be  follow- 
ed by  great  good ;  the  clear  development  of  such  or 
such  a  doctrine  would  bring  us  revival ;  more  lustei 
or  strength  of  talent  in  the  ministry  would  insure 


PEAOTICAL   LESSONS.  309 

progress.  We  only  wait  the  removal  of  such  and 
such  hinderances  to  open  this  door ;  for  the  supply 
of  pecuniary  means,  and  we  shall  see  good  done 
there ;  or  for  the  accession  to  the  Church  of  some 
person  of  influence,  and  God's  work  will  prosper 
yonder.  Faith  is  sadly  wasted  when  bestowed  on 
such  things.  Give  them  their  right  value — never 
underrate  them — place  them  where  God  has  placed 
them ;  but  the  fact  that  you  trust  in  them  shows 
that  your  heart  is  wrong.  Wait  not  for  these — for 
the  power  is  not  in  them — but  for  the  baptism  of  fire. 

Among  the  hinderances  which  will  prevent  any 
one  from  having  the  "  tongue  of  fire,"  none  acts 
more  directly  than  any  misuse  of  the  "  tongue"  it- 
self. If  the  door  of  the  lips  be  not  guarded,  if  un- 
charitable or  idle  speech  be  indulged,  if  political  or 
party  discussion  be  permitted  to  excite  heats,  if 
foolish  "talking  or  jesting"  be  a  chosen  method  ot 
display,  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  same 
tongue  will  be  the  medium  wherein  the  sacred  fire 
of  the  Spirit  will  delight  to  dwell.  Who  has  ever 
worn  at  the  same  time  the  reputation  of  a  trifler  and 
of  a  man  powerful  to  search  consciences  ? 

Another  fatal  hinderance  is  any  kind  of  sensual  in- 
dulgence. Whatever  gives  the  least  ascendancy  to 

the  body  over  the  spirit  musts  gradually  subdue,  and 

^rV  5P  •fcc-^fe 
/TV      0?  THS 

T 


310  THE  TONGUE    OF   FIRE. 

ultimately  extinguish  the  fire  in  the  heart.  This  ap- 
plies to  all  sloth,  to  every  luxurious  habit,  every 
artificial  appetite,  and  all  the  pleasures  of  the  table. 
It  is  not  a  little  remarkable  that  while,  at  the  Day 
of  Pentecost,  the  people,  on  seeing  the  excitement 
and  animation  of  the  Christians,  said,  "  They  are 
filled  with  new  wine,"  Paul  himself  says  to  us,  "  Be 
not  drunk  with  wine,  wherein  is  excess ;  but  be  filled 
with  the  Spirit."  In  both  these  cases  there  is  a 
suggestion,  however  indirect,  yet  unquestionably  a 
suggestion  of  some  analogy  between  the  condition 
of  being  "drunk  with  wine"  and  that  of  being 
"filled  with  the  Spirit." 

Nor  do  we  need  to  seek  far  for  the  grounds  of 
that  analogy.  To  men  of  the  world  wine  is  a  re- 
sort when  they  want  something  above  their  natural 
strength  of  mind  or  body,  and  in  it  they  seek  three 
things — strength,  cheering,  and  mental  elevation. 
Under  its  influence  they  will  do  more  work  than 
they  could  otherwise,  they  will  cast  off  their  cares, 
and  their  mental  powers  will  reach  a  state  which 
they  themselves  call  "  inspiration."  That  worldly 
orators,  even  of  the  highest  reputation,  often  seek 
hi  wine  such  animation  of  their  powers  as  is  neces- 
sary to  great  success,  is  only  too  well  known.  The 
physical  tendency  to  seek  elevation  in  such  a  source 
can  not  be  even  slightly  yielded  to,  without  fatally 
affecting  the  "  tongue  of  fire." 


PRACTICAL   LESSOXS.  311 

Every  Christian  who  wishes  to  retain  the  life  of 
God  in  his  soul, 'must  hold  all  the  enjoyments  of  tin* 
table  under  a  strict  law  of  regard  to  health  and  to 
temperance.  For  strength,  for  cheering,  and  for 
mental  elevation,  such  as  an  extraordinary  affliction 
or  public  effort  may  demand,  he  must  look  alone  to 
power  from  on  high,  to  the  strength,  and  comfort, 
and  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  bare  idea 
of  seeking  any  of  these  in  wine  implies  a  heart  al- 
ready far  fallen  into  the  bondage  of  the  flesh. 
Even  without  going  so  far,  one  may  easily  pass  the 
bounds  of  moderation,  and  drink  not  for  health, 
but  for  pleasure.  If  the  man  who  drinks  to  intoxi- 
cation is  miserable  and  pitiable,  he  who  has  learned 
the  bad  secret  of "  how  far  he  can  go,"  and  who 
even  acts  upon  it,  although  he  may  never  be  drunk, 
is  daily  intemperate.  In  one  aspect,  his  social  influ- 
ence is  the  most  dangerous  of  all ;  for,  while  one 
who  totally  abstains,  and  one  who  drinks  under  a 
rigid  rule  of  regard  for  health  and  moderation,  may 
each  contend  that  they  are  setting  the  wisest  ex- 
ample that  can  be  set,  and  while  the  drunkard  may 
truly  say  that  his  very  excess  is  a  warning  to  all 
about  him,  he  who  habitually  shows  that  he  drinks 
as  much  as  is  safe,  is  a  lure  and  an  enticement  to 
push  indulgence  as  far  as  it  can  be  done  without 
wreck  of  character. 


312  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

Another  fatal  hinderance  is  what  may  be  called, 
"  aiming  at  literary  effect."  When  preaching, 
praying,  or  any  other  religious  exercise  of  the 
tongue,  is  ruled  by  the  idea  of  composition,  it  loses 
the  character  of  a  Divine  gift.  Under  that  idea, 
utterance  especially  is  by  the  aid  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
With  those  who  look  at  Christian  preaching  as  an 
exercise  of  natural  talent,  we  enter  into  no  discus- 
sion. We  speak  only  to  those  who  are  seeking  the 
"  tongue  of  fire,"  who  believe  that  real  Christian 
preaching  is  effected  only  by  the  help  of  God.  To 
them,  and  to  ourselves,  we  say,  that  nothing  will 
more  surely  steal  away  the  fire  from  our  sentences 
than  anxiety  to  deliver  them  just  as  they  were  pre- 
composed,  or  to  pre-compose  them  with  studious  re- 
gard to  literary  grace.  Study  of  style,  of  words,  of 
the  force,  forms,  and  laws  of  language,  we  of  course 
recommend.  Efforts  on  the  part  of  every  one  to 
gain  the  best  style  of  which  his  nature  admits — the 
tersest,  strongest,  clearest,  briefest — we  equally 
recommend.  Seeking,  like  Bunyan,  for  "picked 
and  packed  words,"  is  the  instinct  of  a  teacher. 
Even  the  study  of  the  art  of  speaking,  against 
which  the  vulgar  prejudice  is  so  strong,  we  would, 
with  Wesley  and  Whitfield,  encourage.  Mouth- 
ing elocutionists  may  have  brought  it  into  dis- 
repute, but  that  is  no  reason  why  hundreds  of  us 
should  be  maimed  in  health  before  mid-life  by  pub- 


PRACTICAL   LESSONS.  31:3 

lie  speaking,  when  we  might  have  done  as  much 
work,  and  done  it  better,  without  the  least  injury, 
had  we  availed  ourselves  of  the  science  of  those 
who  have  philosophically  studied  and  taught  upon 
the  voice.* 

While,  however,  we  contend  that  it  is  the  duty 
of  all  who  take  any  part  in  teaching,  to  labor  to 
the  uttermost  for  every  qualification  helpful  to  their 
work,  two  things  are  to  be  forever  and  guardedly 
shut  out.  The  one  is,  aiming  at  giving  intellectual 
pleasure,  instead  of  producing  religious  impression  ; 
the  other,  being  careful  about  words  in  the  pulpit, 
so  as  to  interfere  with  dependence  upon  Grod  for 
utterance.  In  the  study,  attention  to  style  ought 
to  be  with  a  view,  not  to  beauty,  but  to  power. 
In  the  pulpit,  all  thought  of  style  is  thought 
wasted,  and  even  worse.  The  gift  of  prophesying 

*  It  is  often  assumed,  that  speaking  is  a  natural  exercise, 
and  therefore,  needs  no  instruction.  The  word  "speaking" 
covers  a  fallacy.  Conversation  in  a  moderate  tone,  and  at  short 
intervals,  is  a  natural  exercise  of  the  voice ;  public  speaking, 
hi  an  elevated  tone,  and  for  an  hour  together,  is  an  artificial 
one.  Except  in  very  rare  cases  of  persons  singularly  favored 
by  nature,  this  artificial  exercise  is  never  performed  with  tho 
ease  of  the  natural  one ;  and  how  often  it  impairs,  and  even 
destroys  health,  is  too  notorious  to  need  any  mention.  Such 
writers  as  Mr.  Cull,  and  Dr.  Rush,  show  that  under  proper 
training  public  speaking  may  become  as  easy  and  as  healthy 
for  persons  of  sound  organs  as  singing  is ;  and  to  the  neglect 
of  this  we  owe  the  loss,  in  their  prime,  of  many  of  the  best  and 
ablest  preachers  that  ever  lived. 


314  THE  TONGUE    OF   FIRE. 

in  its  very  ideal  excludes  relying  for  utterance 
upon  a  manuscript  or  upon  memory.  It  is  the 
delivery  of  truth  by  the  help  of  God.  The  feeling 
of  every  man  standing  up  in  the  Lord's  name  ought 
to  be,  "  I  am  not  here  to  acquit  myself  well,  nor 
to  deliver  a  good  discourse  ;  but  after  having 
made  my  best  efforts  to  study  and  to  digest  the 
truth,  I  am  here  to  say  just  what  God  may  enable 
me  to  say,  to  be  enlarged  or  to  be  straitened,  ac- 
cording as  He  may  be  pleased  to  give  me  utterance 
or  not." 

With  this  feeling  of  the  preacher  all  appearances 
ought  to  correspond.  It  ought  to  be  manifest  that, 
while  he  has  done  what  in  him  lies  to  be  thoroughly 
furnished,  he  is  trusting  for  utterance  to  help  from 
above,  and  not  insuring  it  by  natural  means — either 
a  manuscript  or  memory.  We  put  these  two  to- 
gether, because  we  do  not  see  that  any  distinction 
really  exists  between  them.  The  plea  that  the 
manuscript  is  more  honest  than  memoriter  preach- 
ing, has  some  force,  but  certainly  not  much ;  for  he 
that  reads  from  his  memory  is,  to  the  feeling  and 
instinct  of  his  hearers,  as  much  reading  as  he  who 
reads  from  his  manuscript.  In  neither  case  are  the 
thoughts  and  feelings  gushing  straight  from  the 
mind,  and  clothing  themselves  as  they  come.  The 
mind  is  taking  up  words  from  paper  or  from  mem- 
ory, and  doing  its  best  to  animate  them  with  feel- 


PRACTICAL    LESSONS.  315 

ing.  Even  intellectually,  the  operation  is  essen- 
tially different  from  speaking,  and  the  difference  is 
felt  by  all.  For  literary  purposes,  for  intellectual 
gratification,  both  have  a  decided  advantage  over 
speaking;  but  for  the  purposes  of  pleading,  en- 
treating, winning,  and  creating  a  sense  of  fellow- 
ship, for  impelling  and  arousing,  for  doing  good — 
speaking  is  the  natural,  this  is  the  Creator's,  instru- 
ment. 

We  never  say,  nor  think  of  saying,  that  God  will 
not  bless  sermons  read,  either  from  the  manuscript 
or  from  the  memory ;  for  we  are  sure  that  both 
these  modes  are  resorted  to  by  holy  and  earnest 
servants  of  His,  who  seek  His  blessing,  and  obtain 
it  to  the  saving  of  many  souls.  All  we  say  of  read- 
ing, either  from  the  manuscript  or  the  memory,  is, 
that  it  is  not  scriptural  preaching.  It  is  not  minis- 
tering after  the  mode  of  Pentecostal  Christianity ; 
it  is  a  departure  from  scriptural  precedent,  an  adop- 
tion of  a  lower  order  of  public  ministration,  and  a 
solemn  declaration  that  security  of  utterance  gained 
by  natural  supports,  is  preferred  over  a  liability  to 
be  humiliated  by  trusting  to  the  help  of  the  Lord. 
It  has  its  clear  advantages,  and  its  clear  losses.  It 
secures  a  gain  of  elegance,  at  the  cost  of  ease — of 
finish,  at  the  cost  of  freedom — of  precision,  at  that 
of  power — and  of  literary  pleasure,  at  that  of  relig- 
ious impressiveness. 


316  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

A  literary  ideal  of  preaching  is  vicious.  Half 
educated  people  pride  themselves  on  admiring  what 
they  consider  intellectual,  or  "  splendid."  To  men 
of  real  mind,  and  real  education,  aiming  at  literary 
effect  is  as  distasteful,  on  the  one  hand,  as  are  traces 
of  carelessness,  looseness,  or  vulgarity,  on  the  other. 
Men  of  great  talent  or  refinement,  when  speaking 
great  truths,  under  holy  inspiration,  must  be  elo- 
quent, or  pleasing.  But  an  "  intellectual  treat"  is 
far  from  being  the  ideal  of  preaching.  We  have 
heard  efforts  of  this  kind  greatly  praised,  -even  by 
aged  and  venerable  ministers,  which,  when  we  look 
back  upon  them,  after  years  have  elapsed,  we  feel 
ought  not  to  have  been  called  sermons  at  all.  They 
were  discourses  which  showed  how  a  certain  subject 
could  be  treated ;  but  which  were  never  meant  to 
do  any  work.  An  acute  and  profound  philosopher, 
looking  upon  the  pulpit  from  the  Chair  of  the  His- 
torical Professor,  treats  this  point  in  the  following 
remarkable  words : 

"  Compare,  I  pray  you,  gentlemen,  the  sacred 
eloquence  of  the  sixth  century  with  modern  pulpit 
eloquence,  even  in  its  most  palmy  days  in  the 
seventeenth  century.  I  said  just  now,  that  in  the 
seventh  and  eighth  centuries  the  character  of  liter- 
ature had  been  that  it  ceased  to  be  a  literature — 
that  it  had  become  in  fact  a  power,  that  in  writing 
and  speaking  men  concerned  themselves  only  with 


PRACTICAL   LESSONS.  317 

positive  and  immediate  results,  that  they  sought 
neither  science  nor  intellectual  pleasure,  and  that  on 
this  account  the  age  had  produced  nothing  but  ser- 
mons or  similar  works.  This  fact,  which  shows 
itself  in  literature  in  general,  is  imprinted  upon  the 
sermons  themselves.  Those  of  modern  times  have 
a  character  evidently  more  literary  than  practical. 
The  orator  aspires  much  more  after  beauty  of  lan- 
guage, after  the  intellectual  satisfaction  of  his  aud- 
itory than  to  act  upon  the  deeps  of  their  souls,  to 
produce  real  effects,  notable  reforms,  efficacious 
conversions.  Nothing  of  this  sort — nothing  of  the 
literary  character  in  the  sermons  of  which  I  have 
just  been  speaking  to  you;  not  one  thought  of  ex- 
pressing themselves  nicely,  of  combining  images 
and  ideas  with  art.  The  orator  goes  to  the  point ; 
he  wants  to  do  a  work ;  he  turns,  and  turns  again  in 
the  same  circle ;  he  has  no  fear  of  repetition,  of 
familiarity,  not  even  of  vulgarity.  He  speaks 
briefly,  but  recommences  every  morning.  THIS  is 

NOT  SACKED  ELOQUENCE ;   IT  IS  RELIGIOUS  POWER."* 

Whenever  we  are  tempted  to  think  that  fruitful- 
ness  is  only  to  be  looked  for  in  connection  with 
superior  attainments,  the  image  of  Peter  preaching 
in  Jerusalem,  and  of  that  vast  multitude  in  tears 

*  GUIZOT'S  "Histoire  de  la  Civilisation?  vol.  ii,  p.  24.  Sixth 
Parw  Edition. 


318  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

before  him,  should  rise  into  our  view.  With  what 
reverence,  not  unmixed  with  sorrow,  do  we  often 
look  back  on  preachers  of  days  now  gone,  perhaps 
on  some  whom  our  own  ears  have  blessed  when  we 
heard  them ;  but  more  on  those  of  whose  mighty 
voices  we  have  caught  faint  echoes,  sounding  in  the 
bosoms  of  hoary  men  who  heard  them  in  their 
youth,  and  have  never  ceased  to  hear  them,  though 
their  tongues  have  long  been  silent !  When  noting 
our  own  poor  efforts;  when  seeing  how  tamely  the 
precepts  of  Sinai  or  the  songs  of  Bethlehem  have 
fallen  upon  men  from  our  lips ;  seeing  that,  after  our 
closest  thinking,  we  have  seemed  as  those  who  beat 
the  air ;  that,  after  seeking  converts,  we  have  only 
gained  credit ;  that,  when  looking  for  multitudes  to 
be  seized  with  the  thought,  "  What  must  I  do  to 
be  saved  ?"  we  have  only  sent  them  away  to  dis- 
cuss our  faults  or  our  merits,  with  perchance  here 
and  there  a  heart  touched  and  contrite ; — when 
years  have  thus  passed  away,  and  no  stronghold  of 
sin  brought  down,  no  province  completely  con 
quered  from  the  Prince  of  darkness,  no  great 
awakening  to  show  that  there  was  a  POWER  and  a 
GOD  in  the  midst  of  the  Church ; — when  we  have 
seen  all  this,  and  much  more  alike  thereto,  has  not 
our  disposition  often  been  to  open  a  calculation  as 
to  our  own  abilities  and  the  difficulties  before  us, 
concluding,  on  the  whole,  that  such  as  we  need  not 


PRACTICAL   LESSONS.  319 

expect  to  do  things  which  only  the  mighty  could 
do?  How  could  lips  like  ours  move  mankind? 
True,  Apostles  and  Prophets  moved  them.  True, 
Whitfield  and  Wesley,  and  hundreds  of  their  co- 
adjutors, near  to  our  days,  and  in  our  own  country, 
moved  them.  But  then  they  were  the  wonders  of 
their  age,  the  seraphim  of  earth.  But  what  made 
them  seraphim  ?  They  were  once  no  mightier  than 
others  as  to  converting  souls.  Unbaptized  with  fire, 
or  but  slightly  touched,  their  tongues  might  have 
charmed,  fascinated,  set  the  world  discussing  their 
gifts  and  extolling  their  abilities ;  but  they  would 
never  have  shot  fires  into  the  souls  of  men,  burned 
by  which  the  stolid  would  roar,  and  the  stoical  melt, 
the  sedate  smite  upon  his  breast,  and  the  corrupt 
cleanse  himself  "  from  all  filthiness  of  the  flesh  and 
of  the  spirit."  Perhaps  without  the  baptism  of  fire 
they  would  never  have  gained  even  the  airy  fame 
of  orators.  Their  very  eloquence  may  have  come 
chiefly  from  the  Spirit  of  God.  At  all  events,  it 
was  that  fire  which  raised  the  orator  into  the  Apos- 
tle, and  made  their  words  sound  as  if  Christ's  first 
messengers  .were  risen  from  the  dead. 

The  spectacle  of  Peter  preaching  at  Jerusalem 
answers  ten  thousand  arguments  of  unbelief.  Who 
is  that  Galilean  peasant,  and  who  are  that  group 
beside  him?  They  are  men  of  like  passions  with 
ourselves.  In  nature,  in  gifts,  in  early  opportuni- 


320  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

ties,  they  can  not  be  ranked  above  the  average  of 
mankind.  Even  though  they  have  been  favored 
with  the  personal  teaching  and  society  of  Christ  for 
three  whole  years,  they  had  not,  up  to  this  period, 
shown  any  extraordinary  superiority  of  character. 
They  have  not  been  even  without  faults ;  they  have 
Lad  their  disputes  among  themselves,  their  unbelief, 
their  faint-heartedness,  their  strifes  about  the  things 
of  the  world,  their  "  false  brethren ;"  yet  are  they 
endued  with  a  power  of  speech  which  passes  all 
previously  conceived  reach  of  eloquence. 

Is  it  rational,  when  looking  up  to  the  Spirit  which 
wrought  this  in  them,  to  doubt  whether  or  not  it  is 
within  His  power  to  baptize  His  servants  now  living 
with  such  a  baptism  as  would  change  the  ordinary 
into  the  extraordinary,  the  feeble  into  the  mighty  ? 
Whether  is  it  easier  for  HIM  to  say,  "  Speak  with 
many  tongues,"  or  to  say,  "  I  will  give  thee  a  mouth 
and  wisdom  which  all  thine  adversaries  shall  not  be 
able  to  gainsay  or  to  resist  ?"  The  former  HE  has 
said,  and  common  men  at  once  received  the  power ; 
the  latter  He  has  said,  and  the  same  common  men 
received  the  power.  The  former  power  we  do  not 
seek ;  but  all  of  us  who  have  any  heart  for  our  Mas- 
ter's service,  any  real  intention  to  bear  a  part  in  the 
battle  for  the  rescue  of  mankind,  do  desire  in  our 
very  hearts,  yea,  long  with  mournful  longing  for  a 
tongue  of  fire  to  tell  of  the  love  of  the  Saviour,  and 


PBACTICAL  LESSONS.  321 

of  the  woe  of  sin,  in  such  tones  that  the  dead  ear 
shall  tingle.  Is  He  not  able  to  give  the  gift  now  as 
He  gave  it  then  ?  Is  the  distrust  of  His  power  in 
this  respect,  which  we  find  so  common ;  this  count- 
ing on  our  own  impotence  as  a  life-long  companion ; 
this  speaking  of  what  we  ought  to  expect,  as  if  our 
power  must  halt  where  our  natural  abilities  halt ; 
this  thinking  it  really  humble  to  expect  little  or  no 
fruit ;  this  thinking  it  meek  to  be  happy  without 
fruit ; — is  all  this  a  fit  answer  to  the  baptism  and 
a  fit  memorial  of  the  tongues  of  fire  ?  Do  we  not 
there  see  the  Spirit  answering  forever  all  doubts  as 
to  what  ordinary  men  can  be  made,  and  proclaiming 
to  all  who  would  bear  a  message  from  God,  that  if 
they  will  only  wait  until  they  are  "  endued  with 
power  from  on  high,"  the  effect  which  of  all  others 
will  show  the  working  of  that  power  within  them 
will  be  this — that  they  shall  be  raised  above  them- 
selves, and  made  to  speak  with  a  mouth  and  wis- 
dom which,  all  who  know  them  will  know,  were 
not  within  their  natural  enowments  or  attain- 
ments ? 

As   TO  THE   SCALE   ON   WHICH  OUR  EXPECTATIONS 

SHOULD  BE  FRAMED.  In  our  age  invention  by  aid 
of  natural  science  often  seems  to  leap  almost  within 
the  bounds  of  the  supernatural.  The  impossibilities 
of  our  fathers  are  disappearing,  one  becoming  a 
21 


322  THE  TONGUE    OF   FIBE. 

traffic  and  another  a  pastime.  This  has  produced  a 
state  of  mind  in  which  nothing  seems  impossible  to 
natural  science.  Concurrently  with  this  has  arisen 
a  tendency  to  bring  spiritual  progress  and  action 
within  natural  bounds.  We  are  proud  of  OUT 
knowledge  of  the  laws  of  the  natural  kingdom,  and 
impatient  of  any  phenomena  which  can  not  be 
judged  by  them.  Yet  we  do  not  object  to  judging 
the  vegetable  kingdom  by  laws  totally  different 
from  those  which  we  apply  to  the  mineral,  and  the 
animal  by  laws  totally  different  from  what  we  apply 
to  the  vegetable,  and  the  pervasive  fluids*  by  lawa 
different  from  those  we  apply  to  any  of  those  three 
kingdoms.  To  shrink  from  the  marvels  of  vegetabh 
life  because  they  are  unaccountable  on  chemical 
principles,  or  from  those  of  instinct  because  they  are 
unfathomable  mysteries  on  botanical  principles,  or 
from  those  of  intellect  because  they  are  inexplicable 
by  the  laws  of  natural  history,  or  from  the  mysteries 
of  light  because  they  can  not  be  metaphysically  an- 
alyzed and  conditioned,  would  not  be  more  unrea- 
sonable than  to  shrink  from  marvels  in  the  spiritual 
kingdom,  because  they  can  not  be  judged  by  the 
laws  of  the  natural.  The  supernatural  has  its  own 
laws,  and  there  is  a  supernatural. 

*  Water,  air,  light,  electricity,  etc.,  which  can  not  be  conve- 
niently classed  under  any  of  the  three  divisions — vegetable,  min- 
eral, and  ani^l — usually  taken  to  comprise  all  natural  objects. 


PRACTICAL,  LESSONS.  323 

Instead  of  seeking  to  keep  down  spiritual  move- 
ments to  the  level  of  natural  explanation,  in  an  age 
when  natural  marvels  reach  almost  to  miracles,  we 
ought  rather  to  be  impelled  to  pray  that  they  may 
put  on  a  more  striking  character  of  supernatural 
manifestation.  To-day  more  by  far  is  necessary  to 
carry  into  the  mind  of  the  multitude  a  clear  convic- 
tion, "It  is  the  hand  of  God,"  than  was  necessary 
in  other  ages.  When  men  saw  few  wonders  from 
natural  science,  they  readily  ascribed  each  wonder 
to  Divine  agency;  but  now  that  they  are  accus- 
tomed to  see  them  daily,  moral  wonders  must  swell 
beyond  all  pretext  of  natural  explanation,  before 
they  are  felt  to  be  from  God.  Is  our  footing  firm  ? 
Do  we  stand,  or  do  we  tremble  ?  Is  Christianity  to 
seat  herself  in  the  circle  of  natural  agency,  or  to 
arise  from  the  dust,  and  prove  that  there  is  a  God 
in  Israel  ?  Are  we  to  shrink  from  things  extraor- 
dinary ?  Are  we  to  be  afraid  of  any  thing  that 
would  make  skeptical  or  prayerless  men  mock  ? 
Are  we  to  desire  that  the  Spirit  shall  use  us  and 
work  in  us  just  to  such  a  degree  as  will  never  bring 
a  sneer  upon  us — to  p*ay,  as  a  continental  writer 
represents  some  as  meaning^  "  Give  us  of  the  Holy 
Spirit ;  but  not  too  much ;  lest  the  people  should 
say  that  we  are  full  of  new  wine  ?"* 

To  Christianity  this  is  pre-eminently  the  age  of 
*  Pasteur  Augustin  Bost. 


324  THE   TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

opportunity.  Never  before  did  the  world  offer  to 
her  any  thing  like  the  same  open  field  as  at  this 
moment.  Even  a  single  century  from  the  present 
time,  how  much  more  limited  was  her  access  to  the 
minds  of  men !  Within  our  own  favored  country  a 
zealous  preacher  would  then  have  been  driven  away 
from  many  a  sphere,  where  now  he  would  be  hailed. 
On  the  continent  of  Europe,  the  whole  of  France 
has  been  opened  to  the  preaching  of  the  word, 
though  under  some  restraints.  In  Belgium,  Sar- 
dinia, and  other  fields,  it  may  now  be  said,  that  the 
word  of  God  is  not  bound.  A  century  ago  the 
Chinese  empire,  the  Mahommedan  world,  and  Af- 
rica, containing  between  them  such  a  preponderat- 
ing majority  of  the  human  race,  were  ah1  closed 
against  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  China  is  open  at  sev- 
eral points.  The  whole  empire  of  the  Mogul  is  one 
field  where  opportunity  and  protection  invite  the 
evangelist.  Turkey  itself  has  been  added  to  the 
spheres  wherein  he  may  labor.  Around  the  wild 
shores  of  Africa,  and  far  into  her  western,  eastern, 
and  southern  interior,  outposts  of  Christianity  have 
been  established.  Wide  realms  beyond  invite  her 
onward.  In  the  South  Seas,  several  regions  which 
a  hundred  years  ago  had  not  been  made  known  by 
the  voyages  of  Cook,  are  now  regularly  occupied. 
Could  the  Churches  of  England  and  America  send 
forth  to-morrow  a  hundred  thousand  preachers  of 


PRACTICAL   LESSONS.  325 

the  Gospel,  each  one  of  them  might  find  a  sphere, 
already  opened  by  the  strong  hand  of  Providence, 
where  a  century  ago  none  of  them  could  have  come 
without  danger. 

The  age,  if  not  so  remarkable  for  agency  as  for 
opportunity,  is  yet  very  remarkable  in  this  respect, 
when  compared  with  any  that  has  preceded  it. 
While,  on  the  one  hand,  we  may  well  humble  our- 
selves that,  after  so  long  a  lapse  of  time,  Christian 
men  are  so  few,  and  Christian  operations  so  feeble, 
yet,  measuring  our  own  day  with  that  of  the  gener- 
ation that  went  before  us,  we  may  devoutly  magnify 
our  God.  Any  one  of  the  three  great  divisions  of 
Christians  in  England — the  Established  Church,  the 
Methodists,  or  the  Dissenters — can  this  day  furnish 
a  number  of  faithful  ministers  teaching  the  truth  in 
the  fear  of  God,  and  wishful  to  be  the  instruments 
in  saving  souls,  supported  by  a  number  of  spirit- 
ually-minded laymen  ready  for  every  good  work, 
such  that,  could  they  have  been  presented  to  John 
Wesley  as  the  entire  force  of  godly  men  in  the  coun- 
try, would  have  made  him  feel  as  if  the  army  for  the 
whole  world's  conquest  was  already  raised.  Scot- 
land alone  could  now  produce  a  host  of  loyal  sol- 
diers ready  and  able  to  wage  the  Redeemer's  war, 
such  as  in  his  day  would  have  appeared  to  him  al- 
most sufficient  to  conclude  the  conquest.  Ireland, 
too,  would  offer  in  this  respect  an  amazing  advance 


326  THE   TONGUE    OF   FIRE. 

In  France,  where,  at  the  conclusion  of  the  great 
Peace,  scarcely  any  earnest  preachers  could  be 
found,  they  may  now  be  counted  by  hundreds ;  and 
in  Germany,  notwithstanding  all  its  mists  and  its 
blights,  not  a  few  are  growing  up  in  vigor. 

Whether  for  the  direct  labors  of  the  pulpit,  for 
united  movements  of  enlightenment,  or  the  minis- 
tering of  gentle  relief  to  the  wants  of  human  so- 
ciety, never,  never  did  the  sun  shine  upon  so  much 
agency,  so  much  organization,  so  much  liberty,  so 
much  earnest  effort.  Could  we  indulge  ourselves 
by  forming  our  own  world,  and  only  think  of  all 
the  good  men,  good  societies,  and  good  works,  on 
which  the  eye  may  rest,  we  might  rejoice  with  un- 
broken joy,  proclaim  the  full  advent  of  the  king- 
dom of  God,  and  feel  ourselves  launched  on  a  be- 
nign and  brotherly  age.  But  alas !  alas !  the  vast 
world  rolls  on,  a  turbid  and  a  freezing  stream. 
When  we  look  first  at  our  own  little  land,  then  at 
the  broad  earth,  we  find,  for  one  who  fears  God  and 
works  righteousness,  there  are  thousands  who  for- 
get God  and  work  wickedness.  Christian  agency  is 
not,  therefore,  as  some  amiable  theorists  would  seem 
to  think,  chiefly  for  training  those  who  are  born 
Christians,  or  made  Christians  in  baptism,  and  who 
need  nothing  more  than  Church  ordinances,  and  an 
open  heaven  when  they  die.  It  is  an  agency  raised 
up  to  carry  out  the  great  work  of  conversion  which 


PRACTICAL   LESSONS.  327 

the  Lord  has  begun  within  the  lands  of  Christen- 
dom, and  then  bear  onward  the  banner  until  every 
nation  under  heaven  bows  under  it. 

It  is  also  an  age  of  progress,  as  much  as  of  op- 
portunity or  of  agency.  What  an  advance  has 
Christianity  made,  as  to  the  impress  upon  our  na- 
tional manners,  within  the  last  century!  On  our 
highest  classes  and  on  our  lowest,  on  those  who 
love  God  and  those  who  love  Him  not,  she  has  im- 
posed many  restraints.  The  vices  which  remain  are 
every  day  made  more  hideous  to  the  public  eye. 
How  different  the  amount  of  piety  in  officers  and 
men  developed  by  the  horrors  of  the  late  war,  from 
what  was  ever  known  in  an  English  army  before ! 
How  different  the  spiritual  condition  of  many  of  our 
rural  and  manufacturing  districts  from  what  they 
were  a  century  ago  !  What  a  change  in  the  moral 
of  the  Court,  in  the  temperance  of  private  enter- 
tainments !  How  much  more  promising  the  aspect 
of  Ireland !  How  much  more  animated  the  religion 
of  Scotland !  What  an  incalculable  advance  in 
America!  And  within  that  time  the  West  Indies, 
Australia,  New  Zealand,  the  Society  Islands,  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  the  Friendly  Islands,  the  Navi- 
gator's Islands,  a  considerable  part  of  Feejee,  and 
tracts  of  Southern  and  Western  Africa,  may  be 
written  down  as  provinces  added  to  Christendom. 
Though  in  some  of  these  places  much  nngodli 


328  THE  TONGUE    OF   FIRE. 

remains,  yet  in  most  of  them  a  far  more  promising 
state  of  things  exists  than  was  known  in  any  coun- 
try between  the  first  days  of  Christianity,  and  the 
last  century. 

In  other  countries,  beginnings  have  been  made 
and  first-fruits  gathered ;  as,  for  instance,  in  India, 
China,  and  Northern  Africa.  At  the  same  time, 
every  system  of  religion  not  calling  itself  Chris- 
tian has  decayed.  Mohammedanism,  Brahmanism, 
Buddhism,  and  Paganism,  have  lost  territory,  adher- 
ents, and  power.  Altogether  it  may  be  questioned, 
whether  even  the  progress  of  the  first  century  has 
not  been  equaled,  as  to  positive  amount,  by  that  of 
the  last.  But,  when  we  look  at  the  agents,  means, 
and  facilities  enjoyed  during  the  last  century  com- 
pared with  the  first,  and  at  the  rapidity  with  which 
believers  have  multiplied  themselves  in  both  pe- 
riods, we  at  once  feel  that,  as  to  propagating 
power,  in  the  face  of  adverse  circumstances  and 
small  resources,  there  is  no  comparison  between 
them. 

It  is,  on  the  one  hand,  as  wrong  and  as  danger- 
ous to  overlook  the  success  which  God  has  given  to 
His  word  in  the  last  age,  or  the  unparalleled  open- 
ings which  promise  to  the  Church  future  conquest, 
as  it  is,  on  the  other,  to  repose  on  our  present  pos- 
sessions, as  if  the  conquest  was  achieved.  What 
has  been  done  is  enough  to  excite  our  liveliest 


PRACTICAL   LESSONS.  329 

gratitude ;  but  if  we  dwell  on  it  alone,  we  become 
enervated  and  careless.  What  remains  to  be  done 
is  enough  to  excite  our  deepest  solicitude ;  but  if 
we  look  at  it  alone,  we  become  dispirited  and 
powerless.  Even  in  England  every  thing  is  stained ; 
our  commerce  corrupt;  our  politics  earthy;  our 
social  manners  chiefly  formed  after  the  will  of  "  the 
god  of  this  world ;"  our  streets  crying  shame  upon 
us  ;  our  hamlets,  many  of  them,  dark,  ignorant,  and 
immoral ;  our  towns  debauched  and  drunken. 

Amid  this  much  good  exists,  hi  which  we  do  re- 
joice, yea,  and  will  rejoice ;  but  O !  the  evil,  the 
evil  is,  day  by  day,  breaking  thousands  of  hearts, 
ruining  thousands  of  characters,  and  destroying 
thousands  of  souls !  Looking  abroad  beyond  the 
one  little  sphere  of  Britain  and  America,  which  we 
proud  boasters  of  the  two  nations  are  prone  to  look 
upon  as  being  nearly  the  whole  world — though  we 
are  not  one-twentieth  of  the  human  race — how 
dreary  and  how  lonely  does  the  soul  of  the  Chris- 
tian feel,  as  it  floats,  in  imagination,  over  the  rest 
of  the  earth !  That  Europe,  so  learned,  so  splendid, 
so  brave — what  misery  is  by  its  fireside !  what  stains 
upon  its  conscience !  what  superstition,  stoicism,  or 
despair  around  its  death-beds !  And  yonder  bright 
old  Asia,  where  the  "  tongue  of  fire"  first  spoke- 
how  rare  and  how  few  are  the  scenes  of  moral 
beauty  which  there  meet  the  eye !  Instead  of  tb^ 


330  THE  TONGUE   OF  FIRE. 

family,  the  seraglio;  instead  of  religion,  supersti- 
tion ;  instead  of  peace,  oppression ;  instead  of  enter- 
prise, war ;  instead  of  morals,  ceremonies  ;  instead 
of  a  God,  idols ;  instead  of  refinement  and  growth, 
corruption  and  collapse:  here,  there,  thinly  so 
and  scarcely  within  sight  one  of  the  other,  a  school, 
a  book,  a  man  of  God — one  star  in  a  sky  of  dark- 
ness. And  poor  Africa !  what  is  to  become  of  the 
present  generation  of  her  sons  ?  Thinly  around  her 
coasts  are  beginnings  of  good  things ;  but  O !  the 
blood  and  darkness,  and  woe,  the  base  superstition, 
and  the  miserable  cruelties,  under  which  the  major- 
ity of  her  youth  are  now  trained,  amid  which  her 
old  men  are  going  down  to  the  grave  ! 

All  this  existed  a  century  ago,  but  was  not  then 
known  as  we  know  it  now.  The  world  is  not  yet 
explored  by  the  Church,  much  less  occupied ;  but 
the  exploration  at  least  is  carried  so  far,  that  we 
know  its  plagues  as  our  fathers  knew  them  not ; 
and  if  our  hearts  were  rightly  affected,  we  should 
weep  over  them  as  they  never  wept ;  for,  al- 
though the  spread  of  Christianity  has  greatly 
multiplied  the  number  of  Christians,  the  increase 
of  population  has  been  such,  that  more  men  are 
sinning  and  suffering  now,  than  were  a  hundred 
years  ago. 

Taking  the  forces  of  the  Church,  comparing 
them  with  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  world, 


PRACTICAL    LESSONS.  331 

and  then  asking,  "  Are  these  ever  to  be  the  means 
of  converting  all  ?"  we  feel  that  only  the  promise 
of  God  could  inspire  such  a  hope.  But  that  pro- 
mise is  so  confirmed,  illustrated,  and  exalted  by  the 
success  of  the  past  century,  that  when  we  look 
back  to  the  few  faithful  men  in  this  country  and  in 
America,  men  in  different  circumstances  and  of  dif- 
ferent views,  who  then  began  in  earnest  to  call  the 
Churches  to  their  work,  and  see  how  far  their 
labors  and  those  of  their  spiritual  sons  have  ad- 
Vanced  the  kingdom  of  Christ  beyond  where  it 
stood  then,  we  are  led  to  say,  "  Suppose  that  all 
the  good  men,  now  loving  God  and  desiring  His 
glory,  were  but  to  be  multiplied  in  equal  ratio 
during  the  next  century,  as  those  few  have  been 
during  the  last  century;  what  an  amazing  stride 
would  be  made  toward  the  conversion  of  the  whole 
world!" 

Is  this  too  much  to  expect?  Are  we  to  con- 
clude, that  the  force  of  the  animating  Spirit  is 
spent,  and  that  an  age  of  feebleness  must  succeed 
to  one  of  power  ?  To  do  so  is  fearfully  to  disbe- 
lieve at  once  the  goodness  and  the  faithfulness  of 
our  God.  Some  say  that,  because  populations  have 
become  familiarized  with  the  truths  of  the  Gospel, 
we  are  not  to  expect  the  same  converting  effects  as 
when  those  truths  were  new.  If  this  be  so,  we 
had  better  make  way  for  a  generation  of  rationalists 


332  THE  TONGUE   OP   FIRE. 

and  formalists,  to  prepare  the  ground  again  for 
spiritual  cultivation !  Some  say  that,  because  the 
age  is  so  educated,  intellectual,  scientific,  and  in- 
quisitive, men  are  not  so  susceptible  of  the  influence 
of  Christianity.  Then  shall  we  wait  for  an  age  less 
enlightened  and  less  educated  ?  Some  say  that  the 
age  is  so  unduly  active,  forcing  enterprise  and  com- 
merce to  the  point  of  absorbing  every  man,  till 
religion  is  pmshed  aside.  Must  we  then  wait  for  a 
duller  and  more  lethargic  time  ?  Some  say  that 
the  Lord  does  not  give  us  great  success  lest  we 
should  be  uplifted.  Is  it  His  way  to  promote  humil- 
ity by  giving  small  results  to  great  agencies,  or  by 
giving  great  results  to  small  ones?  And  would 
not  results  after  the  Pentecostal  scale  make  any  of 
our  agencies  seem  small  ?  These  are  miserable 
withs  wherewith  to  bind  the  giant  Church  of  God. 
Away  with  them  every  one !  After  going  round 
all  the  reasons  which  one  hears  ordinarily  assigned 
for  the  greater  direct  success  of  Preachers  in  the 
last  century  than  now,  our  mind  finds  rest  only  in 
that  one  reason,  which  carries  a  world  of  rebuke 
and  of  humiliation  to  ourselves:  they  produced 
greater  effects,  simply  because  of  the  greater  power 
of  God  within  them. 

Every  ray  of  Gospel  truth  that  exists  in  any  man 
is  on  our  side.  All  intelligence,  all  intellectual 
activity,  all  vigor  of  character,  are  more  for  us  than 


PRACTICAL   LESSONS.  333 

their  opposites  would  be.  In  fact,  they  are  very 
much  the  fruit,  the  indirect  and  secondary  fruit,  of 
the  past  triumphs  of  religion ;  for  it  is  impossible 
that  true  godliness  shall  spread  among  any  people, 
without  stimulating  their  intellectual  and  social 
energies.  It  is  hard  to  imagine  a  satire  on  the 
Gospel  more  bitter  than  that  it  should  be  powerful 
when  new  to  men,  and  impotent  when  familiar; 
that  it  should  be  good  for  the  half  barbarous,  but 
not  for  those  whom  itself  had  refined ;  capable  of 
captivating  the  inert,  but  incapable  of  commanding 
the  masculine  and  the  energetic.  "We  expect  ages 
not  less  instructed  in  Christian  doctrine,  but  far 
more  instructed ;  not  intellectually  duller,  but  more 
active ;  not  darker  as  to  science  and  literature,  but 
inconceivably  brighter  ;  not  slower  as  to  invention, 
enterprise,  and  progress,  but  more  vigorous  by  far. 
And  am  I  to  return  to  "  the  glorious  Gospel  of  the 
blessed  God,"  whereto  I  feel  that  I  and  mine,  my 
kindred,  my  country,  the  race  from  which  I  have 
sprung,  the  lands  in  which  I  have  traveled,  are  all 
indebted  for  their  purest  and  brightest  things — and 
say  to  it,  "When  these  bright  ages  come,  thou 
shalt  lag  behind,  perhaps  recollected  as  one  of  the 
infantine  instructors  of  the  world,  but  distanced  by 
the  progress  of  man  ?"  Let  those  who  assign 
reasons  for  our  want  of  fruitfulness  which  fairly 
BOW  the  seeds  of  rationalism,  prepare  to  render  an 


334  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

nccount  when  the  fruit  of  their  sowing  comes  to  be 
reaped. 

There  is  a  natural  tendency  in  any  movement  to 
lose  intensity  as  it  gains  surface.  When  godliness 
becomes  the  habit  of  large  numbers,  it  is  not  ac- 
cording to  the  laws  of  human  nature  that  it  should 
retain,  in  every  individual,  all  the  fervor  which  it 
must  maintain,  in  order  to  exist  at  all,  when  it  is 
the  peculiarity  of  an  extremely  few.  But  if  this 
fact  is  to  be  recognized,  it  must  be  remembered 
that  the  disadvantage  which  it  presents  is  easily 
overcome  by  the  power  of  grace ;  and,  indeed,  a 
natural  counterpoise  to  this  subduing  tendency,  in 
practical  religion,  is  offered  in  an  equally  natural  ac- 
cumulative tendency.  That  decrease  of  distinction 
between  the  Church  and  the  world  which  is  so  often 
noticed,  does  not  wholly  arise  from  the  Church  be- 
coming less  Christian,  but  partly  also  from  the 
world  becoming  less  wicked.  The  testimony  of  a 
large  number  of  decided  men  gradually  and  silently 
imposes  on  the  world  a  respect  for  Christian  princi- 
ples, till  the  world  tacitly  accepts  many  of  its  moral 
laws  and  social  standards  at  the  hands  of  the  Church. 
Every  concession  of  this  kind  is  an  advantage  to 
those  Christians  who  mean  to  conquer  all;  while 
it  is  a  seduction  to  those  who  repose  in  the  idea  of 
converting  a  small  section  of  the  people,  leaving  the 
rest  to  live  in  sin. 


PRACTICAL   LESSONS.  335 

Put  the  ungodly  in  a  minority,  then  vice  becomes 
a  social  as  well  as  a  spiritual  blemish,  and  religion 
an  outward  as  well  as  an  inward  comfort.  As  the 
multitude  of  Christians  goes  on  increasing,  there  is 
accumulative  power  of  example,  accumulative  power 
of  teaching,  accumulative  power  of  prayers,  accu- 
mulative power  of  Christian  training  in  families,  ac- 
cumulative power  of  purity  in  habits,  all  tending  in 
the  one  direction — to  bring  the  public  sentiment 
under  the  dominion  of  Christ.  Towns  and  villages 
exist  in  this  country  where,  within  the  memory  of 
living  men,  very  few  godly  persons  were  to  be 
found;  but  now  one-tenth,  one-seventh,  and  even 
one-fifth  in  some  cases,  of  their  adult  population, 
are  professing  to  follow  Christ,  and  living  more  or 
less  worthily  of  that  profession.  Can  any  man  help 
feeling  that  the  unconverted  people  in  such  a  town 
are  much  more  likely  to  be  converted  than  those 
living  where  the  proportion  of  the  godly  is  not 
more  than  one  in  a  hundred,  or  one  in  a  thousand  ? 
Who  could  not  feel — who  would  not  practically  ac- 
knowledge the  feeling — of  the  accumulative  power 
of  Christian  progress,  if  he  had  to  decide  in  which 
of  two  towns  his  unconverted  son  should  settle  for 
life — one  with  a  believer  to  every  thousand  of  the 
population,  or  one  with  a  believer  to  every  ten  ? 
He  would  instantly  say,  "  In  the  latter  place  the 
of  my  son's  conversion  are  vastly  greater 


336  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

than  in  the  other."  What  we  should  feel  in  an  in- 
dividual case,  we  ought  to  feel  on  the  great  scale — 
to  gather  strength  and  hope,  not  feebleness,  from 
past  successes,  and  to  become  especially  impatient 
of  the  continuance  of  sinners  in  those  fields  where 
notable  triumphs  of  grace  have  already  been  achieved. 
What  the  Canaanites  were  to  the  Israelites  of  old, 
the  unconverted  dwelling  in  our  towns  and  villages 
are  to  us  at  this  day.  They  confuse  and  weaken  us, 
they  allure,  they  insnare  us,  they  lead  our  children 
astray,  they  rob  us  of  the  fruit  of  our  schools,  they 
damp  the  zeal  of  our  young  converts,  they  entice 
families  into  worldly  practices,  they  tempt  our 
tradesmen,  they  infect  our  churches;  and  never, 
until  they  are  totally  extirpated,  can  peace  and 
righteousness  flourish  in  our  coasts.  Impatient  of 
their  obstinacy  everywhere,  we  ought  to  be  espe- 
cially so  where  victories,  won  by  those  who  have 
preceded  us,  leave  us  comparatively  little  to  do :  for 
the  up-hill  fight  has  been  fought,  the  vantage- 
ground  gained,  and  now  for  the  power  to  complete 
the  triumph!  The  entire  converson  of  England 
and  America,  within  the  next  fifty  years,  would  not 
be  so  great  a  work  for  the  Christians  now  existing, 
as  the  progress  made  within  the  last  hundred  years 
has  been  for  the  Christians  then  existing.  Is  it 
rational  to  believe  that  God  will  less  bless  His  serv- 
ants in  this  nineteenth  century  that  in  the  one  that 


PRACTICAL   LESSORS.  337 

\s  gone,  if  they  be  equally  faithful  ?  or  that  He  will 
shower  on  this  generation  of  ours  less  marked  bene- 
dictions than  He  did  on  the  one  to  whom  we  are 
indebted  for  so  much  ? 

The  single  consideration  of  past  progress  suffices 
to  prove  that,  on  the  ground  of  experience,  we  are 
not  warranted  to  conclude  that  the  conversion  of 
the  whole  world  is  impossible.  Much  as  may  be 
argued  from  the  slowness  of  the  past  progress  of 
Christianity,  the  last  century  has  so  changed  the  as- 
pect of  affairs  as  now  to  cast  the  weight  of  the  argu- 
ment from  experience  decisively  into  the  scale  of 
hope.  Many,  however,  will  continue  to  look  upon 
any  consistent  expectation  of  the  general  conversion 
of  men  as  illusory;  the  objections  of  some  resting 
on  their  views  of  the  constancy  of  human  nature, 
certain,  they  think,  hereafter  as  heretofore,  to  pre- 
sent great  numbers  of  unconquerable  opponents  to 
holiness ;  while  others  take  higher  ground,  and  be- 
lieve that  the  general  conversion  of  our  race  is  con- 
trary to  the  purpose  of  God. 

When  the  question,  "  Is  the  conversion  of  the 
whole  world  possible  ?"  is  fairly  put,  the  plain  an- 
swer to  it  is  obviously  this :  "  It  is  possible,  unless 
it  be  contrary  to  the  will  of  God."  If  He  has  or- 
dained that  it  is  not  to  be,  an  infinite  obstacle  op- 
poses it ;  if  He  has  not  so  ordained,  the  obstacles 
22 


338  THE  TONGUE    OF   FIRE. 

which  oppose  it  are  finite,  and  therefore  conquer 
able.  Christians  can  overcome  all  things  but  a  de- 
cree of  God. 

Has  He,  then,  given  us  any  declaration  that  He 
does  not  intend  to  renew  the  earth,  as  a  whole,  in 
righteousness  ?  We  do  not  mean  to  hold  any  con- 
troversy with  those  who  have  deliberately  adopted 
the  view,  that  the  Christian  dispensation  is  a  kind 
of  interlude  between  the  Lord's  lifetime  upon 
earth,  and  a  future  earthly  reign,  meanwhile,  bear- 
ing witness  in  His  name ;  a  witness,  for  the  conver- 
sion of  a  few,  and  the  condemnation  of  the  many. 
We  leave  them  with  the  praise  of  being  perfectly 
consistent,  in  expecting  small  results  from  the 
preaching  of  the  Gospel ;  and  with  the  responsibil- 
ity of  looking  on  that  Gospel  in  a  light  which  war- 
rants little  faith. 

We  deal  with  those  who  regard  the  Gospel  as 
bond  fide  "  good  news"  for  every  creature — "  good 
news"  which  those  who  heard  it  before  me  were 
bound  to  tell  to  me — "  good  news"  which  I  am 
bound  to  tell  to  every  creature  living,  according  to 
the  extent  of  my  opportunities — "good  news" 
to  the  effect  that  "  the  grace  of  God,  which  bring- 
eth  salvation  to  all  men,  hath  appeared" — news 
which  could  not  be  told  to  me  as  good,  if  it  left 
any  doubt  whether  it  was  or  was  not  for  me — 
"  good  news"  to  every  creature,  "  a  Gospel  for  thee." 


PRACTICAL  LESSONS.  339 

We  take  the  first  two  announcements  by  a 
preacher  under  the  Christian  dispensation,  to  audi- 
ences of  sinners,  as  intended  for  our  instruction  and 
imitation:  "Repent,  and  be  baptized  EVERY  ONE 
OF  YOU,  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,  for  the  remis- 
sion of  sins ;"  "  God,  having  raised  up  His  Son 
Jesus,  sent  Him  to  bless  you,  in  turning  away 
EVERY  ONE  OF  YOU  from  his  iniquities."  Declara- 
tions less  direct,  personal,  or  comprehensive  than 
these,  we  have  no  manner  of  authority  to  deliver. 
We  are  to  "  command  all  men  everywhere  to  re- 
pent," to  call  upon  every  one  of  them  to  believe,  to 
assure  every  one  of  them  that  Christ  is  "  sent  to  bless 
him  in  turning  him  away  from  his  iniquities." 

Nor  are  we  to  make  such  proclamations  under  the 
feeling  that,  although  it  is  our  duty  to  do  it,  there 
is  no  intention  on  the  part  of  God  to  second  our 
testimony  and  give  it  effect.  Hope  in  the  result 
sustained  the  Apostle  in  his  work,  according  to  his 
own  avowal;  for  he  says,  "Therefore  we  both 
labor  and  suffer  reproach,  because  we  trust  in  the 
living  God,  who  is  the  Saviour  of  all  men,  specially 
of  those  that  believe."  This  trust  in  the  God  and 
Saviour  of  all  was  enough  to  animate  any  man  in 
labor  and  under  reproach;  and  such  a  trust  we 
should  never  cast  away. 

The  question,  whether  or  not  the  conversions  of 
the  first  ages  ought  to  be  looked  back  to  by  us,  as  a 


340  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

standard  at  which  to  aim,  is  settled  by  one  of  the 
passages  already  quoted.  After  joyfully  describing 
the  conversion  of  the  Church  in  Ephesus,  where 
"  the  word  of  the  Lord"  so  "  mightily  grew  and 
prevailed,"  St.  Paul  says,  that  God  has  done  this, 

"  THAT  IN  THE   AGES  TO  COME  HE  MIGHT  SHOW  THE 

EXCEEDING  RICHES  OF  His  GRACE,  in  His  kindness 
toward  us  through  Christ  Jesus."  We  are  living  in 
what  were,  then,  "  the  ages  to  come."  On  us  the 
light  of  those  "  exceeding  riches  of  grace"  is  shin- 
ing— shining  for  our  encouragement — shining  that 
we  may  believe  that  in  heathen  cities,  where  great 
Dianas  are  adored,  we  also  shall  see  "  the  word  of 
God  mightily  grow  and  prevail,"  heathen  rites  aban- 
doned, bad  books  consumed,  and  the  craft  of  idol- 
makers  destroyed. 

While  this  collective  number  of  conversions  is 
given  to  us  as  an  encouragement,  the  most  remark- 
able of  all  individual  conversions  is  placed  before  us 
in  the  same  light.  "  Howbeit,"  says  St.  Paul,  "  for 
this  cause  I  obtained  mercy,  that  in  me  first  Jesus 
Christ  might  show  forth  all  long-suffering,  for  a  pat- 
tern to  them  which  should  hereafter  believe  on  Him 
to  life  everlasting."  Thus  we  are  deliberately  fore- 
warned to  take  the  most  singular  conversion  that 
ever  occurred  in  the  early  Church,  not  as  a  dis- 
couragement because  of  its  speciality,  but  as  an  in- 
tentional manifestation  of  the  wonderful  grace  of 


PRACTICAL    LESSONS.  341 

the  Redeemer,  by  which  every  sinner  in  all  ages, 
who  would  fain  "  find  mercy,"  may  encourage  him- 
self. The  persecutor  Paul,  converted  and  forgiven, 
is  for  a  pattern  to  individual  believers  in  "  the  ages 
to  come."  The  great  multitude  of  "children  of 
wrath"  in  Ephesus  who  were  made  to  "  sit  in  heav- 
enly places  in  Christ  Jesus,"  are  also  to  us,  of  "  the 
ages  to  come,"  a  pattern  of  the  "  exceeding  riches 
of  grace."  Whether  our  faith  be  tried  in  respect  to 
the  possibility  of  the  conversion  of  an  individual  as 
unlikely  as  Saul,  or  of  a  number  as  great  as  the 
Church  of  Ephesus,  in  either  case  we  should  believe 
that  the  ancient  grace  is  free  and  mighty  this  day. 
Thus  trusting  in  "  God,  who  is  the  Saviour  of  all 
men,"  we  shall  both  cheerfully  "  labor  and  suffer  re- 
proach." 

The  same  relation  which  we  have  shown  to  exist 
between  hope  and  labor,  is  also  pointed  out  to  us, 
as  existing  between  hope  and  prayer.  "  I  exhort, 
therefore,  that,  first  of  all,  supplications,  prayers, 
intercessions,  and  giving  of  thanks,  be  made  for  all 
men."  Here  no  one  doubts  that  we  are  literally 
commanded  to  pray  for  every  human  being ;  but  if 
we  did  not  carefully  attend  to  the  context,  wo 
might  run  away  with  a  vague  idea,  that  we  were 
only  to  pray  as  an  expression  of  good- will,  and  that 
for  temporal  and  national  blessings,  especially  as 
allusion  is  made  to  "kings,  and  all  that  are  in 


342  THE   TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

authority ;" — that,  in  fact,  the  "  prayers,  and  suppli- 
cations, and  intercessions,  and  giving  of  thanks,  for 
all  men,"  do  not  mean  that  we  are  to  pray,  suppli- 
cate, and  intercede,  that  all  men  may  be  saved  and 
come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth ;  for  that 
would  only  be  asking  what  God  wills  should  never 
be,  and  therefore  what  could  not  be  acceptable  to 
Him.  But,  as  if  expressly  to  anticipate  this  unbe- 
lief, the  Apostle  adds,  "  For  this  is  good  and  ac- 
ceptable in  the  sight  of  God  our  Saviour ;  who  will 
have  all  men  to  be  saved,  and  to  come  unto  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  truth.  For  there  is  one  God,  and  one 
Mediator  between  God  and  men,  the  Man  Christ 
Jesus ;  who  gave  Himself  a  ransom  for  all,  a  testi- 
mony* in  due  time." 

Here  our  encouragement  in  prayer,  supplication, 
and  intercession  for  all  men,  is  grounded  first  on  the 
clear  declaration  that  such  prayer  is  "  good  and  ac- 
ceptable in  the  sight  of  God  our  Saviour ;" — "  our 
Saviour"  giving  intensity  to  the  expression,  as  if  re- 
minding us  that  He  who  has  saved  us,  must  be  one 
to  whom  it  is  good  and  acceptable,  that  we  should 
seek  the  salvation  of  all.  It  is  further  grounded  on 
the  express  declaration  of  His  will  regarding  others, 
that  He  "  will  have  them  to  be  saved,  and  to  come 
unto  the  knowledge  of  the  truth."  Here  is  not 

*  "We  give  the  marginal  reading,  which  is  a  literal  transla- 
tion ;  the  other  is,  "  to  be  testified  in  due  time." 


PRACTICAL   LESSONS.  D4.'i 

only  the  assurance  that  we  are  right  in  praying  that 
they  may  be  saved,  but  right  in  praying  that  the 
truth  may  be  brought  to  all,  and  that  they  may  be 
saved  through  its  instrumentality  ;  praying,  in  feet, 
for  the  universal  diffusion  of  Christ's  Gospel,  and 
the  universal  salvation  of  men  in  consequence.  It 
is  further  supported  on  the  ground  of  the  unity  of 
God,  the  unity  of  the  Mediator  between  God  and 
men,  and  the  unity  of  man  as  regarded  by  His  me- 
diating atonement :  "  One  God,  and  one  Mediator  be- 
tween God  and  men,  the  Man  Christ  Jesus,  who  gave 
Himself  a  ransom  for  all,  a  testimony  in  due  time." 
We  have,  then,  the  clear  example  of  the  first 
preachers,  the  express  declaration  that  the  early 
conversions  were  as  a  pattern  for  the  ages  to  come, 
the  statement  that  trust  in  God  as  the  Saviour  of  all 
men  was  the  animating  strength  under  apostolic  toil 
and  shame,  the  command  to  pray  for  all,  and  the 
most  formally  stated  warrant  for  such  prayers  bold- 
ly to  lay  hold  upon  the  promises  of  God. 

Many  who  will  admit  that  the  scriptural  argu- 
ment points  in  this  direction,  yet,  looking  at  human 
nature,  the  present  condition  of  mankind,  the  pro- 
portion of  Christian  agency  to  population,  and  the 
past  career  of  man,  will,  on  the  whole,  conclude 
that  the  conversion  of  the  world  is  not  to  be  ex- 
pected. They  will  also  ask  us  how  w  oan  recon- 


344  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

cile  such  an  expectation  with  the  free  agency  of 
man.  We  will  no  further  answer  them  than  by  re- 
calling the  fact,  that  every  additional  conversion  to 
some  extent,  however  slight,  changes  the  condition 
of  society,  and,  in  so  doing,  affects  the  motives 
which  act  upon  the  unconverted,  throwing  a  great- 
er weight  upon  the  side  of  goodness.  A  few  more 
decided  advances  on  the  part  of  the  Church,  in 
some  countries  of  Christendom,  would  cast  a  pre- 
ponderating weight  of  social  motives  on  the  side 
of  godliness,  leaving  little  to  be  contended  against 
but  the  natural  depravity  of  man's  heart,  which, 
even  in  the  purest  condition  of  society,  would  be 
enough  to  demand  the  most  zealous  care  for  the 
conversion  of  each  human  being. 

This  bears  first  on  the  general  question  of  nat- 
ural motives,  next  on  the  particular  one  as  to  rec- 
onciling faith,  for  the  general  regeneration  of  men, 
with  their  free  agency.  We  readily  admit  that, 
logically,  we  can  not  reconcile  them,  and  certainly 
we  are  not  anxious  to  attempt  it.  All  the  diffi- 
culties which  meet  us  in  soberly  expecting  the  con- 
version of  the  entire  world,  equally  meet  us  in  so- 
berly expecting  the  conversion  of  an  entire  family 
Every  question  of  free  agency,  motives,  human  na- 
ture, past  experience,  which  enters  into  the  one, 
enters  into  the  other,  though  on  a  smaller  scale. 
But  it  is  only  the  scale  that  differs,  the  elements  are 


PRACTICAL  LESSONS.  345 

the  same.  Yet  who  that  has  felt  the  faith  and  love 
of  Christ  within  him,  and  has  kindred  dear  to  his 
own  heart,  has  not  again  and  again  pleaded  that 
they  might  all  appear,  "  no  wanderer  lost,  a  family 
in  heaven  ?"  Who  does  not  feel  that  to  exercise 
faith  that  such  a  prayer  shall  be  answered,  is  good 
and  wise,  and  acceptable  to  God  ?  In  fact,  all  the 
difficulty  exists  as  to  faith  for  the  conversion  of  any 
one  individual. 

The  difference  between  preaching  the  Gospel 
with  a  full  expectation  of  doing  no  more  than  sav- 
ing small  companies  of  saints  from  amid  multitudes 
of  sinners,  on  whose  shipwreck  no  influence  is  to  be 
exercised  beyond  holding  them  a  light  to  sink  by, 
and  of  looking  upon  every  converted  man  as  one 
rescued  from  a  common  danger,  who  is  immediately 
to  join  in  rescuing  the  rest — is  such,  that  in  the  one 
case,  when  a  little  is  accomplished,  it  is  looked  upon 
as  what  the  Gospel  was  sent  to  do ;  while,  in  the 
other  case,  every  little  is  taken  as  but  an  earnest  of 
the  great,  and  the  great  as  an  earnest  of  the  uni- 
versal. While  we  aim  at  few,  we  shall  win  but 
few ;  for,  that  our  successes  shall  take  their  propor- 
tions from  our  faith,  is  the  universal  law  of  the 
service  of  Christ. 

Should  we  be  wrong  in  our  views — should  it  be 
contrary  to  the  design  of  our  Lord  to  convert  all 


346  THE  TONGUE    OF   FIRE. 

our  race  by  the  preaching  of  His  word,  and  the  out- 
pouring of  His  Spirit — should  it  be  His  purpose  to 
leave  the  earth  much  as  it  is  until  He  concludes  its 
mournful  story  in  thunder-claps  of  judgment — 
should  that  consummation  be  nigh,  and  the  last 
trumpet  be  already  beginning  to  fill  with  the  breath 
of  the  archangel,  yet  surely,  if  we,  under  the  illusion 
of  our  belief,  are  found  panting,  praying,  laboring, 
if  by  any  means  we  might  save  some,  that  blast 
might  cause  us  a  pang  for  the  multitudes  whom  it 
found  unwarned ;  but  no  pang  because  we  had  been 
busy  in  warning,  exhorting,  entreating ;  no  pang 
because  we  had  done  so  in  faith,  that  our  Lord 
willed  all  men  to  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth. 

Suppose,  on  the  other  hand,  that  there  is  even  a 
possibility  of  our  being  right,  that  the  grace  of  God 
which  has  appeared  to  us  really  is  "  good  tidings" 
for  every  creature ;  that  the  truth  so  precious  to 
our  nation  and  to  our  own  souls  is  not  decreed 
away  from  any  part  of  the  human  family  by  the 
great  Saviour  above  us ;  that  He  does  mean  that 
literally  every  creature  should  hear  it  from  the  lips 
of  His  servants,  that  literally  the  whole  earth 
should  be  filled  with  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord, 
that  literally  "  the  ages  to  come"  should  take  the 
early  conversions  as  the  type  of  their  expectations, 
and  should  embrace  all  men  in  their  supplications 


PRACTICAL   LESSONS.  347 

and  their  labors;  should  all  this  be  true,  and  we 
spend  our  strength  in  observing  the  clouds,  and  the 
judgments,  and  the  trumpets,  telling  those  who  are 
calling  the  nations  that  they  may  call,  but  they  will 
accomplish  little  thereby — as  far  as  in  us  lies  steal- 
ing the  nerve  from  their  arm  and  the  fire  from 
their  voice ;  should  we  in  the  midst  of  this  die,  and 
find  "  ages  to  come"  yet  advancing,  then,  perhaps, 
we  might  feel  as  if  the  Scripture  had  been  neglect- 
ed by  us,  which  says,  "  He  that  observeth  the  wind 
shall  not  sow,  and  he  that  regardeth  the  clouds 
shall  not  reap."  Futurity,  judgments,  and  provi- 
dential designs,  lie  within  the  unshared  province  of 
God  ;  and  none  need  make  it  his  chief  concern  to 
settle  or  to  ascertain  them.  A  world  of  sinning  and 
suffering  men,  each  one  of  them  my  own  brother, 
calls  on  me  for  work,  work,  work.  I  may  trust  the 
future,  and  the  time  of  restoring  Israel,  to  better 
hands  than  mine. 

In  hope,  or  without  hope,  let  us  be  up  and  doing. 
Encouragements  are  on  every  hand,  and  so  are 
menaces.  The  enlightened,  the  true,  the  zealous, 
are  many ;  the  wicked  and  the  slothful  are  fearfully 
more.  The  number  of  the  former  has  been  grow- 
ing by  conversions,  the  number  of  the  latter  grow- 
ing faster  by  the  natural  increase  of  population. 
The  appliances  for  Christian  propagation  are  vast ; 
the  faith  of  many  in  their  efficacy  feeble.  Tla- 


348  THE  TONGUE   OF  FIRE. 

doctrines  of  Christianity  are  known  and  prized  by 
multitudes  who  never  knew  them  before ;  but,  on 
the  other  hand,  there  are  few  of  the  Churches,  in 
the  very  heart  of  which  those  doctrines  are  not  be- 
trayed. One  would  rob  us  of  the  incarnation  of 
GOD,  another  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  another  of  an 
atonement,  another  of  providence,  another  of 
prayer ;  some  of  regenerating  grace,  some  of  min- 
isterial unction,  some  of  primitive  fervor,  some  of 
a  Lord's  day ;  some  would  launch  us  on  a  sea  of 
thought  without  an  inspired  guide  ;  others  on  a 
moral  universe  without  punishment  for  wrong  ; 
thus  nearly  every  truth  that  distinguishes  the  sys- 
tem of  Christianity  from  earthly  inventions,  is  at- 
tacked by  mining  or  by  battery.  We  are  not  sure 
but  truth  is  sometimes  spoken  when  little  good 
ensues ;  we  are  sure  that  error  is  never  issued  into 
the  world  without  doing  harm  ;  and  there  are 
strong  men  now  doing  work  over  which,  unless 
others,  made  stronger  by  the  might  of  God,  undo 
it,  generations  to  come  will  have  reason  to  weep. 
For  all  who  can  not  bear  to  see  the  Cross  betrayed, 
the  Holy  Ghost  grieved,  the  oracles  of  God  de- 
graded, the  work  of  the  Spirit  in  the  human  soul 
reduced  to  a  process  of  motives  and  emotions,  and 
every  Divine  tie  that  connects  us,  as  a  redeemed 
race,  with  a  redeeming  Father,  skillfully  cut  asunder ; 
— for  those  who  are  not  prepared  to  see  the 


PRACTICAL   LESSONS.  349 

Churches  of  England  and  America  pass  "through 
blights  such  as  have  befallen  the  Churches  of  Swit- 
zerland, Germany,  and  other  Protestant  regions  of 
the  Continent,  this  is  a  moment  when  the  air  seems 
full  of  trumpet-notes,  when  every  step  taken  on 
doctrinal  ground  raises  the  echo  of  warning.  And, 
alas !  many  who  dogmatically  repel  error  evaporate 
in  intellectualism ;  others  decay,  under  a  silvered 
mildew  of  respectability ;  and  others,  professing  to 
seek  the  old  Christianity,  content  themselves  with 
garnishing  the  sepulcher  in  which  the  Middle  Ages 
buried  her,  instead  of  seeking  that  her  first  preach- 
ers, in  the  persons  of  other  men,  but  in  the  "  spirit 
and  power"  of  Peters  and  Pauls,  should  be  raised 
up  once  more ! 

We  will  bless  every  laborer  for  any  service  done 
toward  the  maintenance  and  advance  of  the  truth, 
for  every  good  word  spoken,  every  sound  argument 
uttered  from  the  pulpit,  every  page  of  evangelical 
truth  written,  and  every  rebuke  administered  in 
any  way  to  those  who  would  falsify  our  faith ;  but, 
let  them  be  assured  that  more  than  all  other 
services,  turning  many  away  from  iniquity  will 
counterwork  and  confound  attempts  to  reduce 
Christianity  from  a  Divine  to  a  human  system. 
This  is  the  practical  answer  to  difficulties  and 
objections.  Let  us  only  have  multitudes  of  now- 
born  Christians,  fervent  in  faith  and  hope,  full  of 


350  THE  TONGUE   OF 

love  and:  of  good  works,  and  rationalists  may  ac- 
count for  the  phenomenon  as  they  will ;  but  the 
common  conscience  of  mankind  will  feel  that 
God  is  in  it.  "Beholding  the  man  which  was 
healed  standing  with  them,  they  could  say  nothing 
against  it." 

The  one  reason  for  being  zealous  for  Christian 
doctrine  which  so  far  surpasses  all  others  that  beside 
it  they  become  as  nothing,  is  that  given  by  St. 
Paul  to  Timothy:  "Take  heed  unto  thyself,  and 
unto  the  doctrine ;  continue  in  them :  for  in  doing 
this  thou  shalt  both  save  thyself,  and  them  that 
hear  thee."  What  a  motive !  Saving,  first,  our- 
selves— then,  those  that  hear  us :  the  sublime  can 
go  no  further !  Here  we  have  set  before  our  hearts, 
soliciting  us  onward,  motives  which  we  acknowledge 
have  already  moved  the  very  heart  of  the  Godhead. 
To  save !  as  an  instrument,  it  is  true ;  but  O,  how 
infinitely  glorious,  even  as  an  instrument,  to  save ! 
and  that,  not  only  ourselves,  but  others !  While, 
on  the  one  hand,  guarding  "  the  doctrine"  is  the 
only  means  of  retaining  saving  power  in  the  Church ; 
on  the  other,  no  guard  upon  the  doctrine  will  ever 
be  effectual  unless  we  can  raise  up  a  succession  of 
saved  men. 

Creeds,  Catechisms,  Confessions,  are  not  to  be 
treated  as  is  now  the  fashion  in  many  quarters  to 
treat  them ;  but,  when  kept  in  their  proper  place, 


PRACTICAL  LESSONS.  351 

as  human  and  fallible,  and  strong  only  when  they 
accord  with  God's  holy  oracles,  have  a  high  utility. 
But  the  idea  of  relying  upon  these  for  conserving 
the  truth  in  any  Church,  is  as  well-founded  as  would 
be  the  idea  of  relying  on  a  good  military  code  for 
defending  a  nation.  An  army  of  cowards  would 
interpret  any  code  down  to  their  own  level,  and 
Churches  and  unconverted  men  will  equally  lower 
any  confession  of  faith.  For  rescuing  souls,  for 
rebuking  blasphemy,  for  building  up  God's  holy 
Church,  for  glorifying  the  Saviour's  name  on  earth, 
for  our  own  joy  and  crown  of  rejoicing,  for  the 
bliss  of  covering  a  multitude  of  sins,  for  the  eternal 
delight  of  having  saved  a  soul  from  death,  let  us 
aim  at  one  work — bringing  sinners  from  dark- 
ness to  light.  Of  all  the  records  of  praise  which 
our  merciful  Lord  will  give  His  servants,  who 
would  not  most  covet  that  his  record  should  be  ? — 
"  The  law  of  truth  was  in  his  mouth,  and  iniquity 
was  not  found  in  his  lips.  He  walked  with  Me  in 
peace  and  equity,  AND  DID  TURN  MANY  AWAY  FROM 
INIQUITY  !" 

Ye  that  are  lights  and  fathers  in  the  ministry, 
whose  very  name  is  a  power,  whose  tone  decides 
that  of  many  young  evangelists,  whose  standard  of 
faith  and  success  regulates  the  practical  expectations 
of  many  humble  Christians — O,  show  us  the  way 
to  victory,  lead  us  to  downright  conquests  ovet 


352  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

this  cold  and  sinful  world !  What  if,  ere  ye  go 
hence,  ye  should  leave  to  your  successors  a  glorious 
tradition  of  multitudes  broken  under  the  power  of 
the  word,  of  notorious  sinners  suddenly  transformed 
into  bright  examples  of  grace,  of  throngs  of  in- 
quirers asking  the  way  to  heaven  with  tears,  of 
Churches  once  dying  easily,  roused,  through  your 
instrumentality,  to  apostolic  zeal  ?  If  ye  but  leave 
behind  you  such  traditions  to  be  told,  and  told 
again,  to  children,  and  to  children's  children,  your 
"  tongue  of  fire"  will  be  multiplying  itself  in  the 
homesteads  of  your  people,  when  your  voice  has 
long  been  silent ;  and  the  fruit  of  your  labor  will  go 
on  propagating  itself,  until  the  trump  of  the  arch- 
angel sounds. 

Ye  who  are  but  entering  on  the  work  of  the 
ministry,  or  are  as  yet  young  in  its  ranks,  choose, 
among  all  those  who  have  gone  before  you,  whose 
fame  you  would  prefer.  Take  the  host  of  those 
who  have  trifled  with  the  Cross,  with  inspiration, 
with  the  fall  and  the  redemption  of  man,  with  the 
work  of  the  Spirit,  or  any  of  the  other  vital  doc- 
trines of  our  religion  ;  and  if  you  find  among  them 
one  man  whose  name,  after  ages,  is  dear  to  a  nation, 
sacred  in  the  homesteads  of  thousands  to  whose 
ancestors  he  was  a  blessing — then  follow  him.  If 
you  find  among  those  who  gave  themselves  to 
intellectual  pleasures,  and  were  above  the  plain 


PRACTICAL   LESSONS.  353 

rough  work  of  revivals  and  awakenings,  one  who 
has  left  a  memory  which  is  to  this  day  blessed,  rais- 
ing up  even  now  spiritual  children  to  perpetuate 
his  fruits  to  other  generations — you  may  follow 
him.  But  surely  you  would  never  think  of  follow- 
ing in  the  track  of  those  whose  labors  have  been 
succeeded  by  a  blight,  or  whose  names,  if  remem- 
bered at  all,  are  remembered,  not  as  a  blessing  to 
the  world,  but  simply  as  an  example  of  talent  ? 
Surely  you  would  wish  rather  to  be  one  of  those 
whom  grandsires  shall  speak  of,  to  their  grand- 
children, as  having  been  the  means  of  saving  such 
a  man,  of  kindling  such  a  revival,  of  introducing  a 
new  religious  era  into  the  history  of  such  a  village, 
or  of  first  carrying  the  Gospel  to  some  people  to 
whom  Christ  was  a  stranger  ?  You  will  find  that 
all  those  upon  whose  memories  the  blessings  of  liv- 
ing men  rest,  were  those  who  most  gave  themselves 
to  accomplish  the  salvation  of  sinners,  who  gloried 
in  the  Cross,  who  trusted  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
who,  whether  their  tongue  was  that  of  a  Boanerges, 
or  that  of  a  Barnabas,  ever  took  care,  by  solitary 
waiting  before  the  Redeemer's  throne,  to  have  it  so 
imbued  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  that  it  was,  at  least,  a 
"  tongue  of  fire." 

We  do  not  feel  that  we  have  said  what  we  had 
to  say.     In  looking  over  this  little  book,  we  can 
23 


354  THE  TONGUE   OF   FIRE. 

hardly  believe  that  it  is  all  that  the  feelings 
and  thoughts  with  which  we  began  it  have  pro- 
duced. But,  such  as  it  is,  let  it  go  out  to  the  world, 
to  be  rebuked  where  it  errs,  to  be  unheeded  where 
it  is  feeble,  to  be  blessed  where  it  is  true  and 
strong. 

And  now,  adorable  Spirit,  proceeding  from 
the  Father  and  the  Son,  descend  upon  all  the 
Churches,  renew  the  Pentecost  in  this  our  age, 
and  baptize  Thy  people  generally — O,  baptize  them 
yet  again  with  tongues  of  fire  !  Crown  this  nine- 
teenth century  with  a  revival  of  "  pure  and  unde- 
filed  religion"  greater  than  that  of  the  last  century, 
greater  than  that  of  the  first,  greater  than  any 
u  demonstration  of  the  Spirit"  ever  yet  vouchsafed 
to  men ! 


IVSRSITY 


THE   END. 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 


AN     INITIAL    FINE    OF    25     CENTS 

WILL  BE  ASSESSED  FOR  FAILURE  TO  RETURN 
THIS  BOOK  ON  THE  DATE  DUE.  THE  PENALTY 
WILL  INCREASE  TO  SO  CENTS  ON  THE  FOURTH 
DAY  AND  TO  $I.OO  ON  THE  SEVENTH  DAY 
OVERDUE. 


JUN  23  1944 


DEC 


•  C'D  LD 

MAY  22 


- 
AN 


MU6  -95 

40V  2  4 1969     7i 
HO\'24'69-2PM 


c'd  circ.  FEB  1  6  J983 


LD  21-50m-l,'J 


UNIVBRSITV  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


